CEO Kemi Omotosho says pricing, content and distribution remain locally shaped despite CANAL+’s global ownership

MultiChoice Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Kemi Omotosho has reaffirmed the company’s local control in Nigeria following its integration into French media group CANAL+, saying pricing, content, channel packaging and distribution decisions remain shaped by the realities of the Nigerian market.

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Omotosho made the clarification on Monday, August 17, 2026, as MultiChoice Nigeria sought to explain how its corporate structure operates following CANAL+’s acquisition of MultiChoice Group and to reassure customers, employees, partners and the domestic creative industry that Nigerian market priorities remain central to the business.

“Since September 2025, MultiChoice has been part of CANAL+, a global media and entertainment group,” Omotosho said.

“MultiChoice Nigeria operates as part of that global group, but our business here remains firmly focused on Nigeria, our customers, our people, our partners, and our local creative industry.”

The clarification comes nearly a year after CANAL+ secured effective control of MultiChoice Group, creating a substantially larger international entertainment business serving more than 40 million subscribers across close to 70 countries.

CANAL+’s takeover followed an extended acquisition process. By October 2025, the French group had secured acceptances representing about 94.39 per cent of MultiChoice’s issued shares and subsequently moved to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares.

The compulsory acquisition was completed in December 2025, with MultiChoice’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange and A2X listings terminated from December 10, 2025. (Investegate)

For Nigerian customers, however, the significance of the transaction is less about the ownership structure on paper and more about how the change affects everyday decisions around DStv and GOtv.

Omotosho said those decisions continue to be made with Nigeria firmly in view.

She explained that pricing, content strategies, channel packaging and distribution frameworks are developed by a Nigerian executive team with a close understanding of local consumer behaviour and economic conditions.

The arrangement, she said, allows the company to combine international expertise with the practical knowledge required to operate in one of Africa’s most complex consumer markets.

“The advantage of being part of a global group is that we can draw on ideas, technology, and experience from other markets and adapt what works for Nigeria,” Omotosho said.

“Equally, when we develop something successful here, there is an opportunity for other markets to learn from us. The principle is quite simple: we think globally, but we act locally.”

That balance could become increasingly important as the pay-TV industry confronts rising competition, changing viewing habits and pressure on household spending.

MultiChoice has already been reshaping its wider digital strategy as part of the CANAL+ group.

In March 2026, the company announced that Showmax would be discontinued following a review of its streaming operations, citing substantial annual losses and the increasingly competitive and capital-intensive nature of the global streaming market.

The decision showed that the acquisition has brought more than a change in ownership. It has also ushered in a period of strategic reassessment as CANAL+ and MultiChoice look for a more sustainable way to compete across television, streaming, sport and digital entertainment.

At the same time, CANAL+ has been expanding technological and commercial links across the combined African business.

In June 2026, CANAL+ and Samsung announced that the DStv Stream application would be pre-installed on new Samsung Smart TVs across 18 African countries, including Nigeria, from June 1.

The arrangement gives customers easier access to DStv Stream alongside international and local entertainment and major sporting content.

For MultiChoice Nigeria, such global partnerships offer access to resources that would be difficult to develop independently.

Omotosho said the relationship with CANAL+ could strengthen the company’s ability to respond to macroeconomic pressures while continuing to invest in Nigerian content, infrastructure and domestic talent.

That local investment remains an important part of MultiChoice’s identity in Nigeria, where the company has developed a substantial entertainment ecosystem around locally produced television, film, reality programming and other creative formats.

The broader MultiChoice business has historically placed significant emphasis on local content across its African markets, with productions and channels tailored to individual countries and regional audiences.

The challenge now is to preserve that local relevance while benefiting from the financial strength, technology and international reach of a global parent company.

Omotosho’s position suggests that the Nigerian operation intends to pursue both.

Her appointment as CEO in January 2026 also marked a new chapter for the Nigerian business. She succeeded John Ugbe, who retired after almost 15 years as chief executive.

Omotosho brought more than two decades of experience across media, telecommunications and digital businesses in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

Her background within MultiChoice also gives the Nigerian operation continuity at a time of major corporate change.

Before becoming CEO, Omotosho held senior roles within the group, including responsibilities in customer value management in Nigeria and across the wider African business.

That continuity could prove useful as MultiChoice Nigeria navigates the expectations that come with being part of a much larger international organisation.

CANAL+, meanwhile, has described the acquisition as transformational, with the enlarged group seeking to combine MultiChoice’s African footprint with CANAL+’s international scale and entertainment capabilities.

The French company’s strategy also places considerable emphasis on Africa’s creative potential.

The combined business gives CANAL+ a stronger platform from which to develop and distribute African stories while taking international content to African audiences.

For Nigerian viewers, the ultimate test will not necessarily be the corporate architecture but the experience that follows it.

Customers will judge the transition through the affordability and flexibility of subscriptions, the quality of programming, the relevance of local content, customer service and the availability of digital products.

MultiChoice Nigeria’s local control pledge therefore carries practical weight.

It signals that, despite the scale of the takeover, decisions affecting the Nigerian market are expected to remain closely connected to local economic conditions and consumer preferences.

The company is effectively presenting the CANAL+ relationship not as a replacement for its Nigerian identity but as an opportunity to strengthen it with global resources.

For Omotosho, the formula is straightforward: international scale can provide the technology, experience and investment, while Nigerian leadership remains responsible for understanding what works at home.

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As the post-acquisition integration enters a more mature phase, that balance between global ownership and local execution may become one of the defining features of MultiChoice Nigeria’s next chapter.