Telecom
Twitter and ViacomCBS Announce Global Content Partnership, Plans for Twitter ‘Watch Parties’
Twitter and ViacomCBS on Wednesday announced a sizable global deal that will see the social media platform streaming digital content from across the ViacomCBS portfolio of news, sports and entertainment brands — including content from live events, TV shows and other franchises.
In addition, ViacomCBS-owned streaming service Paramount+ will host three “Twitter Watch Parties” designed to capitalize on Twitter’s ability to serve as a second screen and a home to fan communities and conversations.
The companies did not specify which Paramount+ shows would be hosted as Watch Parties, only noting that they would be original series.
The content partnership represents a significant expansion of Twitter’s prior deal with the media giant. Before, Twitter’s deal had been a U.S.-only partnership with just Viacom, ahead of the ViacomCBS merger.
The renewed agreement is now a multi-year, global deal and expands to include the entire ViacomCBS portfolio. That means it also now includes news and sports, instead of only entertainment properties, as before. The companies declined to detail the financial terms, however.
The ViacomCBS umbrella today covers a wide range of brands, such as BET, CBS Television Network, CBS News, CBS Sports, Channel 5, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Network 10, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network and Telefe.
In recent months, Twitter and ViacomCBS have partnered on select live events, including the 2021 MTV Music Video Awards, which aired its live pre-show on Twitter, and the BET Awards, which livestreamed from the red carpet to Twitter. It’s likely that under the new agreement, Twitter users will gain continued access to these types of events. As for which other properties and programs will be featured on Twitter in the months ahead, ViacomCBS would not say.
While the new agreement is focused on hosting digital content, it will also involve Twitter’s marketing support.
The ViacomCBS programs will be eligible for both marketing support and brand sponsorship sales through Twitter’s Amplify program, which connects ViacomCBS’ video with Twitter’s paid reach and targeting, the company said. ViacomCBS will also leverage other marketing features around live video, real-time highlights and Twitter Moments.
Twitter in previous years had heavily focused on its ability to serve live video content to its users, by doing things like pinning live video to the top of the Timeline, offering livestreamed events and concerts, and more. But over time, news of those types of partnerships dwindled. Twitter even shut down its own livestreaming app Periscope to focus more on its new set of social features, like Fleets, Spaces, Communities, Super Follows and others.
But Twitter is again doing deals to make digital content a part of its core offering. In early 2021, for example, NBCUniversal and Twitter announced their own global, multi-year partnership, similar to this with ViacomCBS.
“We’re thrilled to extend our long-standing relationship with Twitter in this expansive global deal that brings together the full ViacomCBS portfolio and magnifies the scale and scope of our valued partnership,” said Andrea Wolinetz, SVP, Distribution & Business Development-Streaming at ViacomCBS, in a statement.
“Twitter is the digital water cooler for trending topics and fandom worldwide, and we’re excited to provide front-row access to innovative digital content experiences and culture-defining moments across the best of entertainment, news and sports for Twitter users everywhere.”
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
MultiChoice is closing its continental streaming platform Showmax after 11 years, notifying subscribers Thursday of the board’s decision to discontinue the service in the near future to refocus on sustainable digital offerings.
MultiChoice
The email assured no immediate disruption: “You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time.” Showmax, launched in South Africa in 2015 and expanded across Africa, offered movies, series, documentaries, and sports to rival Netflix and others amid rising online entertainment demand.
The shutdown follows Canal+’s approved takeover of MultiChoice last year, with the French giant offering ZAR 125 per share for remaining stakes.
The deal mandates HDP ownership boosts, local content investment, and splitting MultiChoice’s SA broadcasting arm into an independent entity to meet regulations.
MultiChoice prioritised subscribers during the transition, promising advance notice on timelines.
Showmax’s exit signals consolidation pressures in Africa’s cut-throat streaming market, where global players dominate despite local content strengths.
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