Broadcasting
Senate Asks Pay-TV Providers to Slash Tariff
The Senate has asked all cable television service providers to immediately review their bouquet prices downwards, in tandem with the prevailing reality of the economic situation in Nigeria.
Ahmad Lawan, president of the Senate, also on Wednesday, constituted a seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the hike in the tariffs imposed on subscribers by pay-tv service providers operating in Nigeria.
Lawan, while announcing members of the committee chaired by Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, deputy majority whip, tasked the panel with carrying out a comprehensive probe into how pay-tv service providers impose bills on subscribers in other countries.
Members of the committee include Senators Sulaiman Kwari, Oluremi Tinubu, Yusuf Yusuf, Lekan Mustapha, Chukwuka Utazi, Akon Eyakenyi.
The Senate had earlier kicked against the increase in tariffs by MultiChoice Nigeria, owners of DStv.
A member, Senator Abba Moro, had moved a motion titled ‘Nigerians Dumbfounded, Outraged Over Pay-TV Tariff Hikes, Demand for Pay-Per-View Subscription model.’
Moro noted the concern and uproar in the public over tariff hikes by service providers on their bouquets.
The lawmaker made reference to DStv which told its Compact bouquet subscribers on August, 22 2020, to expect a 13.3 per cent price increase to N7,900, up from N6, 975, with effect from September 1, 2020.
Moro decried that the Compact plus was jacked up by 9.8 per cent, from N10,925 to N12,000; and Premium from N16, 200 to N18,400, indicating a 13.6 per cent hike.
He said, “MultiChoice Nigeria willfully and perpetually increases the cost of its bundles because there is no regulation whatsoever in the area of fixing rates.”
“As usual, without recourse to the economic situation of the country, MultiChoice has again raised the cost of its DStv and GOtv bundles, stating them as follows: DStv Premium (N21,000), Compact (N14,250), Compact (N9, 000), Confam (N5, 300), Yanga (N2, 950), Padi (N2, 150), Business(N2, 669), Xtraview PVR access fee (N2, 900).
“Those of GOtv are as follows: GOtv Max (N4,150), GOtv Jolli (N2, 6669), GOtv Jinja (N1, 900), GOtv Lite (N900).”
The lawmaker expressed concern that thousands of pay-tv subscribers in Nigeria have bitterly reacted to the development on different social media platforms, ranging from deep shock to pure outrage with many asking the Nigerian government to checkmate the activities of pay-tv service providers in Nigeria, especially in the area of fixing prices.
Moro added that among the bitter complaints of Nigerian subscribers of pay-tv services was the poor network service experienced as a result of bad weather/ epileptic electricity supply, which sometimes makes a whole month subscription wasteful without the subscriber watching anything before the expiration.
According to him, Nigerians are demanding that, rather than paying fixed rates for packages monthly, pay-tv service providers should introduce a subscription model which allows subscribers to pay per view to enable them to match their TV consumption to subscription, as is the case with electricity metering and mobile telephony.
The lawmaker explained that the pay-per-view that Nigerian subscribers are demanding is a flexible model plan of subscription which allows subscribers of pay-tv to pay-per-watch, to avoid paying for services that they do not consume.
Adopting the motion, the Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission to direct all pay-tv providers to introduce a pay-per-view model of subscription as against the monthly prepaid model presently in place.
The Senate also directed all pay-tv service providers in Nigeria to immediately review their bouquet prices downwards in tandem with the prevailing reality of the economic situation in the country.
It also resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to embark on the full-scale investigation of the pricing activities of DStv in Nigeria to bring it in line with international practices.
Efforts previously made by the House of Representatives to ensure the introduction of pay-per-view by DStv and other cable services had failed.
The House had set up and mandated the panel on March 17, 2020, to investigate DSTV and other cable television service providers in Nigeria.
The House had, again on June 2, passed another resolution, mandating the panel to invite DSTV to explain its tariff increment on June 1.
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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