Broadcasting
Multichoice Writes Off N31.6Bn with liquidated Heritage Bank
Multichoice Group, South African Pay-TV operator, has announced that it has written off N31.6 billion ($21 million) in cash that was held with the recently liquidated Heritage Bank.
A write-off is the decision decision by a company or government to accept that they will never recover a debt or an amount of money that has been spent on something.
The company made this disclosure in its financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2024.
Earlier, in its FY 2024 annual report released in June, the group had reported a deposit of N33.7 billion with the bank as of March 31, 2024, the end of the fiscal year.
However, following cash remittances made before the bank’s liquidation on June 3, 2024, the balance was adjusted to N31.6 billion.
“Following the revocation of Heritage Bank’s banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria on 3 June 2024 and its subsequent liquidation, the group wrote off its receivable relating to the cash held with the bank,” Multichoice stated in a note to the $21 million listed as part of its operating losses for the half-year under review.
The Group reported that the continued depreciation of the naira against the US dollar led to additional foreign exchange losses on non-quasi equity loans, particularly on the USD-denominated intergroup loan from MultiChoice Africa Holdings B.V. to MultiChoice Nigeria Limited.
Despite these challenges, the Group successfully repatriated some funds from its Nigerian operations to its headquarters, although the amount was lower compared to the previous year.
“The group extracted USD65 million from Nigeria in the period (1H FY24: USD91 million) at an average rate of NGN1,516:USD (1H FY24: NGN794:USD), incurring extraction losses of USD1 million or ZAR20 million (1H FY24: USD28 million or ZAR518m) in the process.
“The group held USD11 million in cash in Nigeria at period-end, down from USD39 million at end FY24, a consequence of consistent focus on remitting cash, the impact of translating the balance at the weaker naira and the write-off of the USD21 million receivable relating to the cash held with Heritage Bank before its license was revoked and the bank was liquidated,” it stated.
After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revoked Heritage Bank’s banking license on June 3, 2024, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), was appointed as the liquidator.
The NDIC has since begun paying insured deposits, with a maximum coverage of N5 million per depositor.
While Multichoice initially stated in June that it would work with the NDIC to ensure a reasonable outcome regarding its funds in the liquidated bank, its deposit exceeds the maximum amount insured by the NDIC.
Recently, the NDIC announced that it is actively working to ensure that depositors with amounts exceeding the N5 million insurance limit are compensated through liquidation dividends generated from the sale of the defunct bank’s assets.
The Corporation also confirmed that it has begun efforts to recover debts and liquidate investments and physical assets from the bank to facilitate timely reimbursement for uninsured depositors.
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced the postponement of its maiden annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes to January 25, 2026.
NIPR
The event, earlier scheduled for December 7, 2025, was deferred to accommodate stakeholders whose observance of Christmas festivities had commenced earlier than expected.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Israel Opayemi, urged stakeholders to note the new date and prepare to participate in the ceremony.
He said the awards would motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars, while enhancing Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the public relations ecosystem and strengthening brand equity for all stakeholders.
Opayemi reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class award administration and ceremony, describing the PRICE Awards as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors.
The development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when the NIPR President and Chairman, Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, inaugurated a 12-man committee to organise the maiden edition. The inauguration followed the Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team tasked with establishing the awards.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion, a move analysts say will reshape the global entertainment industry.
Netflix
The deal, which includes Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Games, was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix shares for each WBD share.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the acquisition as “a defining moment” for the streaming giant, noting that the company intends to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations while expanding its production capacity.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies with Netflix’s culture-defining titles, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.
The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, following the planned spin-off of WBD’s TV networks division, Discovery Global, in 2026. Netflix projects annual cost savings of $2–3 billion by the third year after completion and expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by year two.
Industry groups, including the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United, have raised concerns about the impact on movie theaters, while regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal over antitrust issues. Netflix has pledged to continue supporting theatrical releases, with Warner Bros.’ cinema commitments running through 2029.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hailed the agreement, saying it “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love.”
Observers note that the acquisition comes 15 years after former Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes dismissed Netflix as “the Albanian army,” underscoring the dramatic shift in the entertainment landscape.
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
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