Broadcasting
StarTimes Secures 3-year Exclusive Media Rights for Coppa Italia

Africa’s leading digital TV operator StarTimes and Lega Serie A reached a 3 years deal for the exclusive all media rights to Coppa Italia & Supercoppa Italiana in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the agreement, StarTimes claims the exclusive rights of the two Italian premier Cup competitions in English, French, Portuguese and African indigenous languages from 2018/2019 season to 2020/2021 season.
Coppa Italia is Italy’s single-elimination domestic Cup competition, and Supercoppa Italiana is the annual matchup between the winner of Italy’s Serie A versus the Coppa Italia champion.
The 2018/19 Coppa Italia is already well underway, with 16 teams from Serie A, Serie B and Serie C set to take on each other in December, before the eight sides to win their ties will join Serie A’s top eight outfits, who enter the competition at the last-16 stage.
“Italian football is one of the best in the world and we are so glad to offer the matches of Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana to our 20 million users in Africa,” said Shi Maochu, StarTimes Sports Director.
Shi said: “Consistent with StarTimes’ mission and values, our search for best sport contents is always at the heart of our commitment to service excellence. In this regard, our partnership with Lega Serie A will definitely help to serve up a football feast to African football fans in the coming days.”
“We are delighted to have closed this important 3 years partnership for the Sub-Saharan Africa” commented Marco Brunelli, Lega Serie A CEO “We deem that Coppa Italia and SuperCoppa Italiana deserve visibility all over the world and with StarTimes we will cover a wider part of the African continent, assuring the valorization of our properties.”
Broadcasting
NIPR Postpones Maiden PRICE Awards to January 25, 2026

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.
Broadcasting
Netflix Seals $82.7bn Deal to Acquire Warner Bros., HBO Max

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.
Broadcasting
It is Official, DStv Confirms Termination of 16 Major Channels

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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