Broadcasting
ROK Studio to Launch Series on DStv Channel 168
ROK, the award-winning Nigerian film studio and entertainment brand, will launch across Africa on the DStv platform on 1 November 2016.
The Lagos-based film studio, renowned for its original TV series and Nollywood movies, will join the DStv family, bringing exciting original content to 52 countries, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The new channel will launch with ROKStudios’ exclusively-produced content, including Festac Town, Banks Chronicles and Bloodline.
ROK will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact customers. Some of the ROK content will also be available on the DStv Catch-Up service.
Nigerian cinema, known colloquially as Nollywood, is the second largest film industry in the world, in terms of production output. In its short history, ROK has become one of the industry’s most prolific producers of new, original content, with arguably Africa’s most extensive Nollywood catalogue of 12 TV series and over 150 movies.
The new, exclusively Nollywood channel will be fully programmed, produced and developed in-house, by ROK’s Lagos-based team. Mary Njoku, award-winning Nollywood actress and film producer who has spent over 12 years at the heart of Nigerian filmmaking, will head the channel, which will also be supported by IROKO, the VC-backed African technology and entertainment broadcaster and content distributor.
Speaking on the launch, Mary Njoku, ROK CEO said, “Joining the DStv family is the next step in ROK’s evolution as Nollywood’s leading film production house and brand. Broadcasting our original content to millions of movie fans across the African continent, on a platform as far-reaching and illustrious as DStv, is an exhilarating prospect.
“What lies beneath every ROK production, the ROK brand, be it movies or TV series, is our fanatical love of African storytelling; we want to relate amazing African stories that our fans can recognise, be swept away by and be entertained with. We work with Nigeria’s most exceptional talent, in front of and behind the camera, and we continue to push the boundaries in terms of production values. This has given us the edge, in our short history, and has helped us build a fanbase around the world. ROK on DStv allows us to bring ROK to every corner of the continent and connect viewers with content they love”.
“One of the cornerstones of our customer promise is to deliver content that our customers love and enjoy, and that is why we’re excited to introduce ROK which will boost DStv’s local content offering and showcase even more African stories made in Africa, for us Africans,” said, John Ugbe, managing director of MultiChoice Nigeria. “This will ensure that our offering keeps the art of storytelling alive on the continent which, will in turn help to grow Africa’s creative industries like Nollywood into vibrant, economic powerhouses.”
Since its launch in 2013, ROK Studios has produced some of Nollywood’s most talked about originals, including Festac Town, Single Ladies, Stalemate, Banks Chronicles and Bloodline. The channel launches with these blockbuster titles, and going forward, ROK viewers on DStv will be the first to watch new and exclusive homegrown ROK content, before it goes anywhere else.
Nollywood is the world’s second largest film industry in terms of output, producing approximately 50 films a week and employs over one million people in Nigeria, and contributes 1.42 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. Prominent themes in Nollywood films include family, religion, love and betrayal.
ROK Studios launched in 2013. ROK Studios is a leading African film and television studio and production house based in Lagos, Nigeria.
ROK specialize in the creation of content in partnership with the industry’s foremost creative talent.
It has developed, produced and financed film and TV series for distribution platforms globally.
ROK owns one of the largest content libraries in Nigeria, with blockbuster films and series, as well as an Animation Studio called ROK Animations Studios.
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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