Broadcasting
StarTimes Blames Forex for Tariff Hike
StarTimes, has ascribed its decision to embark on price review, from August 1, this year, to the continued downward slide of the nation’s currency, against other foreign currencies, especially dollar.
Speaking at a recent virtual media Roundtable, to announce StarTimes’ content upgrade and price adjustment, Viki Liu, company’s marketing manager, stated that the continued increase in the foreign exchange rate had left the organisation with no other option than to tinker with the prices of some of its bouquets, to enable it to be in business.
She stated that the paytv company had, however, as a way of mitigating the effects of the upward price review on the subscribers, refreshed its content offerings and brought more sought-after contents to its subscribers at the most affordable rate in the market.
Debunking insinuations in some quarters that the company was only toeing the line of competition, with the increase, the company’s Marketing Manager stated that the company was doing a price review to enable it to stay afloat.
“We are not toeing any competition’s line. If we were doing that we would have increased our prices since February. Earlier in the year (2020), the Federal government increased the rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to 7.5%. This increase did have an effect on our cost, but in consideration of our customers’ plight, we have continued to bear that extra cost
“More recently, the impact of the foreign exchange rate has had an overwhelming adverse effect on our business. Our business is not exempted from the effect of the naira depreciation affecting all businesses in the country.
“All of our foreign contents are bought in dollars and to continually serve our subscribers the best contents, we have been constrained to make some slight review on our subscription rates. The decision to make this review is based on compelling external factors beyond our control. The fact remains that if the rate of the dollars had been stable, we would not have embarked on any price review,” she added.
“But we believe that our flexible payment plans, which allows for daily, weekly and monthly subscriptions, and the addition of more than 15 interesting channels to our various bouquets would go a long way in mitigating the effects of the price increase,” he stated.
The company, at the meeting, had announced a content upgrade and price adjustment
The price adjustment, which takes effect from August 1st, this year, will have its DTT (antenna) users, with the Basic bouquet, pay N1,700, as against N1300 monthly. The Classic Bouquet subscribers will pay N2,500 as against N1,900 monthly, while Nova Bouquet remains unchanged at N900 with over 43 exciting channels.
The company’s DTH (Dish) users, the Smart Bouquet subscribers, will pay N2,200, as against N1,900 monthly; Super Bouquet subscribers will pay N4,200 as against N3,800 monthly. While Nova bouquet remains unchanged at N900.
Broadcasting
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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.
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