Broadcasting
NBC Plans Review of Broadcasting Code to Check Fake News, Hate Speech
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it is reviewing the broadcasting code to address emerging challenges like hate speech and fake news.
Dr. Igomu Onoja, its Zonal Director in charge of the North-Central, who disclosed over the weekend in Jos, said that the review had become necessary to enforce ethics and check the excesses of broadcasting stations.
Onoja spoke at a colloquium organised by the Plateau chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), to mark this year’s Press Week.
The colloquium focused on “Fake News, Hate Speech and Nigeria’s Democratic Sustenance”.
He warned broadcasting stations against being used by desperate politicians to “pollute the system with hate speech” because it had the tendency to set the nation on fire.
“We have radio stations in Jos clapping for people that say that the Plateau governor is mentally deranged; even worse things have been said on air. We cannot tolerate that,” he warned.
Onoja advised media organisations to be fair in allotting air time to political parties and groups as the campaigns for the 2019 general elections gradually hot up.
“If you give 30 minutes to Party A, the same duration should be given to party B in the same media organisation,” he said.
Earlier, the Guest Speaker, Prof. Umaru Pate, had accused the Nigerian media of paying too much attention to political news.
“More than 70 per cent of the news we cover is political; practically all the headlines are political. We do not seem to have time for the economy and even insecurity that has been a major concern for the poor.
“Everything political is news, but burning issues like poverty and violent conflicts do not seem to worry us.
This is bad. And sad,”’he said. He blamed the rising rate of fake news and hate speeches on political affiliations, foreign interests, ethnicity and religious institutions, among others, and described the situation as “highly alarming”.
Pate, a professor of Mass Communication at the Bayero University, Kano, regretted that prominent persons had taken advantage of the significance of the media in societal processes to misinform, deceive and incite.
He said that Nigerians in the Diaspora had constituted a major source of fake news and hate speeches, regretting that people with little or no understanding of the issues in the country were using the social media to incite people against each other.
Noting that Nigeria was a multi-cultural country, the don urged Nigerians to be sensitive to such variety and avoid speeches or remarks that could hurt each other’s’ faith, ethnic groups or origin.
He particularly decried the involvement of the mainstream media in the dissemination of hate speech and fake news, saying that such involvement was adding credibility to the twin evils.
Pate also advised journalists and media houses to avoid being bribed to compromise standards by people seeking to spew hate speeches, and emphasised the need to respect professional ethics.
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
Paramount Africa is officially shutting down at the end of December 2025, drawing the curtain on more than two decades of operations in South Africa and Nigeria.
The company, which once reached over 100 million viewers across 52 African territories, confirmed it will close its doors as part of a massive global restructuring at its parent company, Paramount Global.
This is the same Paramount Africa behind channels like BET, MTV, MTV Base, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and more.
Its digital footprint has also been significant, with millions of monthly page views, social media engagements, and content partnerships across Africa.
But despite that scale, rising costs and a global strategic reset have caught up with the business.
Paramount’s retrenchment has been building for months.
Earlier this year, plans to launch a standalone Paramount+ app in South Africa were quietly shelved.
Then in August, the company said its content would remain available only via DStv and Showmax.
And last month, MultiChoice confirmed that BET Africa and MTV Base will disappear from DStv and GOtv on January 1, 2026, as Paramount Africa winds down entirely.
The shutdown is tied to aggressive cost-cutting after Paramount’s merger with Skydance. The company is targeting a 15% reduction in global staff and $3 billion in savings.
International divisions, including Africa, have taken the hardest hit as the business pivots away from linear TV and doubles down on a more streamlined streaming-first model.
At the same time, the global media landscape is being shaken by Warner Bros. Discovery’s chaotic auction. Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast have all submitted fresh bids for WBD, with some offers reportedly focusing on the studios-and-streaming division, home to HBO, HBO Max, DC, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Analysts say the crown jewel bundle could go for as much as $70 billion, a deal that would reshape Hollywood and accelerate the decline of traditional TV.
DStv subscribers may lose access to 12 major Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) channels, including CNN International, Discovery Channel, TLC, and Cartoon Network, from Jan. 1, 2026, if MultiChoice and WBD fail to conclude a new distribution agreement.
DStv
MultiChoice, now owned by Canal+, issued a notice to customers on Monday, warning that its current carriage deal with WBD will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, and negotiations to renew the contract remain inconclusive.
“While discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, several Warner Bros. Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from Jan. 1, 2026,” the company said.
The channels at risk include Discovery Channel, CNN International, TLC, Discovery Family, Real Time, TNT Africa, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and Travel Channel.
The development comes amid subscriber losses for MultiChoice, which has shed 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the last two financial years.
This includes 1.2 million customers lost in 2025 alone, representing an 8 per cent decline across South Africa and the rest of Africa.
In Nigeria, MultiChoice has lost 1.4 million subscribers in the past two years, largely due to repeated subscription price increases, according to Nairametrics.
The broadcaster is also set to lose additional content in the coming months. Paramount Africa will discontinue BET Africa and MTV Base from Jan. 1, 2026, while CBS Reality and CBS Justice will cease operations on Dec. 31, 2025.
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