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Local Content Powers African Dreams

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MultiChoice

At a time when Africa’s people are navigating a series of cost-of-living shocks and commercial margins are under relentless pressure, organisations can achieve long-term business sustainability by focusing on the service they provide, and the value it can generate for their customers.

This may not be the time for record-setting revenues – particularly for businesses dependent on the discretionary spending of hard-hit consumers. However, it can be an exciting time for African enterprises to embrace the purpose that first inspired them, and to focus on living that purpose.

For pan-African entertainment group MultiChoice Africa, this is precisely such a time. The Group has a long history of creating relevant local content for the 50 continental markets in which it operates. Its financial position remains strong, with significant growth in business units such as Showmax (customers up 44% year-on-year), DStv internet (revenue up 85%) and its BetKings spots-betting operation (revenue up 76%), but there is an understanding that customers are under pressure, and their needs must come first.

Investing in content

That means investing in the product, producing content that will add value for Africans – creating the culturally relevant shows that allow you, as an African, to see yourself in the content you consume, but also as a financial investment in the growth of an industry.

That ongoing MultiChoice investment added more than 5 340 hours of locally produced films and shows over the past financial year, growing the Group’s local-content library to 91 470 hours. Flagship reality shows like Big Brother Mzansi and Big Brother Naija are in the vanguard of this content drive, attracting strong viewership, along with the Group’s ever-popular global sport offering.

SuperSport broadcast 47 839 hours of live coverage last year and produced 1 029 live events. Viewers stayed glued to world sports events like the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the EURO 2024 football.

Developing careers

The true impact of this local content lies not in the fact that it can compete with global shows in terms of quality and entertainment value, but that every second of it supports the careers of African creatives and production staff.

Whether it’s Kenyan actors, Nigerian presenters, a Tanzanian camera crew, Ethiopian directors and grips, or a Ugandan post-production team, local content creates thousands of jobs across Africa. It also ensures that MultiChoice can tell African stories that resonate directly with local audiences. That ability to “See Yourself” continues to distinguish the group’s offering from foreign streaming services.

To ensure a pipeline of talented staff to produce that local content, the group invests in MultiChoice Talent Factory academies across the region – one in Lusaka, another in Lagos, and a third in Nairobi – each producing dozens of qualified film graduates every year.

These young filmmakers are commissioned to produce movies for MultiChoice channels – Africa Magic, Zambezi Magic, Maisha Magic etc – in the course of their studies. This ensures that by the time they graduate from the year-long courses, they are equipped to produce entertaining content that is right up to MultiChoice standards.

Meeting customers where they are also means accommodating their financial needs. To enhance its value proposition, MultiChoice has also tiered down certain channels, reintroduced the second concurrent stream at no extra cost and priced down its DStv ADD Movies packages. It has also piloted weekly subscriptions in Uganda to better align subscription periods with customer cash flows.

Social engagement

The Group remained locally engaged through ongoing social investment. As the African media partner to The Earthshot Prize in 2024, MultiChoice showcased the work of social entrepreneurs across the continent and supported the platform that awarded five winners each year with £1-million grants to fund their initiatives.

The MTF Academy investment has already produced 467 interns and graduates, trained 1 500 masterclass participants and seen 152 films go into production.

Across Africa, the group is demonstrating how private investment translates into job creation, economic stability, and talent development.

In every one of the territories where MultiChoice operates, this local-investment approach dovetails perfectly with national-development goals, building career pathways, creating aspirational African content for African people, and driving economy growth.

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Before Season 4: The Characters Who Shaped the Rise and Fall of Wura

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Wura Season 4

Power has shifted, loyalties have been tested, and secrets are no longer buried. As Wura returns for Season 4, before the next chapter unfolds, it’s the perfect moment to revisit the characters whose ambition, secrets, and rivalries have driven the series’ gripping tale of power and consequence. Here are the characters who have shaped the story so far from Season 1 -3.

Mrs Adeleke (Wura)

The boss lady, ruthless CEO of Frontline Gold Mine and the woman at the centre of it all.

Wura built her empire on carefully buried secrets and ruthless decisions. Anyone who threatened her power in the last seasons was silenced, and every move she made was calculated to keep her throne intact.

But power built without mercy eventually demands payment. In the end, Wura’s world collapsed when she discovered the most devastating truth of all: the daughter she had killed in her quest to protect her secrets was actually her own. Faced with the weight of her actions, she pulled the trigger on herself, leaving behind a legacy of power, destruction, and unanswered questions.

Tumininu (Tumi)

Tumi’s journey began with a simple mission: find the truth about her father. What followed was a dangerous path filled with lies, betrayals, and powerful enemies.

Determined and fearless, Tumi chased every clue and confronted the darkest secrets surrounding her family. But the biggest revelation came too late, the woman she had grown to hate the most was the one who gave birth to her.

In her pursuit of justice, Tumi paid the ultimate price. Sometimes the truth costs everything.

Jeje

Jeje was the man caught between two worlds.

Husband to Tumi, yet deeply connected to Wura’s shadowy reality.

For a long time, he carried dangerous truths that could destroy everything. When Jeje finally revealed that Wura was responsible for Tumi’s father’s death, it set off a chain reaction that neither love nor loyalty could stop. His confession changed the course of every life connected to the Frontline empire.

Mr Adeleke

A respected man sworn to fight crime and uphold justice. Yet the greatest criminal in his life was the woman he loved, Wura.

Mr Adeleke shared a home with Wura, blind to the darkness hiding in plain sight. Even as the signs became impossible to ignore, his love for her clouded his judgment.

It raises a haunting question: how do you police an entire city, yet fail to see the truth inside your own home?

Iyabo

Iyabo was the quiet force that kept the family together until one truth shattered everything.

Without warning, she revealed the secret that changed the entire story: Tumi was not her biological daughter. No preparation. No gentle explanation. Just a truth that landed like a storm in a fragile family. Family secrets destroy everyone.

As Wura launches its Season 4 this March, the story moves beyond the secrets. With the truth now exposed and the consequences still unfolding, the next chapter promises new power struggles, shifting loyalties, and choices that change everything.

In Wura’s world, the past never stays buried, and the next season may prove that the real battle is only just beginning.

To upgrade, subscribe, or reconnect, download the MyGOtv App or dial *288#. For catch-up and on-the-go viewing, download the GOtv Stream App and enjoy your favourite shows anytime, anywhere.

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Paramount+, HBO Max to Become One Streaming Entity After WBD Deal

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paramount HBO merger

By Adedapo Adesanya

Paramount+ and HBO Max will become a single, unified streaming service after Paramount Skydance stepped in to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) following the surprise exit of Netflix from the bid.

The company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr David Ellison, announced during a call with investors on Monday that the company plans to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single, unified platform.

“Our combined company will be home to many of the greatest, most recognisable and beloved franchises in the world, from ‘Harry Potter’ to ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Looney Tunes,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Yellowstone.’ This represents a tremendous opportunity, and we fully intend to invest in the creative engines of both studios, making them the most sought-after destination for the industry’s leading creative talent,” he said.

Mr Ellison also reassured investors that HBO’s identity and creative vision as a studio would remain unchanged.

“Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO.” He also committed to maintaining a robust theatrical slate, pledging 15 films per year, per studio, for a total of at least 30 annual theatrical releases.

This announcement comes on the heels of Paramount’s recent agreement to acquire WBD in a deal estimated at $110 billion. The merger would bring together a vast array of film, TV, and news assets under one corporate entity and is expected to upend the Hollywood landscape as we know it. It also furthers the trend of consolidation seen among other major streaming platforms, such as the combination of Disney+ and Hulu.

With a projected subscriber base of over 200 million, the new streaming service will be positioned as a serious contender among the top streaming giants.

However, the merger also invites close scrutiny from the US Department of Justice over concerns about media concentration and market competition.

Also, industry observers warn that the merger is likely to result in significant job cuts, heightening employee anxieties over layoffs and wage reductions.

There have also been concerns over editorial independence, particularly in light of the Ellison family’s political connections to Donald Trump and increasing scrutiny of newsrooms at CBS and CNN.

Regardless of the concerns, Mr Ellison was optimistic that the transaction would move forward smoothly.

He described the merger as “pro-competition, pro-consumer, and pro-creative community,” emphasising the transaction will “create a stronger Hollywood and global production ecosystem, one that expands consumer choice and unlocks opportunities for creative talent.”

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Netflix Walks Away from Warner Bros Deal After Paramount’s Huge Offer

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Interest in Netflix stocks

By Adedapo Adesanya

Streaming giant, Netflix, has backed away from its proposal to buy Warner Bros Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to win the long battle for one of Hollywood’s most storied studios in a deal worth over $100 billion.

Warner Bros, which announced it was up for sale last year, said Paramount’s latest bid was “superior” to the one from Netflix, which in turn refused to raise its offer.

Paramount, which has been insistent regarding the deal, would also need approval from the US Department of Justice as well as European regulators.

Netflix executives say they have declined to match Paramount’s bid as “the deal is no longer financially attractive” at that price.

The buyer would gain control of the iconic studio along with its films and media networks.

The takeover has been touted to significantly reshape the global media landscape, which includes the streaming market.

Last December, Warner Bros agreed to a takeover offer from Netflix for some of its assets, in a deal worth roughly $82 billion, including debt.

Paramount then made a rival proposal, which was refused by Warner Bros, but an increased offer was made earlier this week, boosted by $1 per share.

“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. “However, we’ve always been disciplined.”

“This transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” the Netflix executives added.

The announcement came just hours after Mr Sarandos had visited the White House on Thursday.

The development marks the possible end of the saga that saw offers and refusals and could possibly change the global streaming market as Paramount is backed by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Oracle owner, Mr Larry Ellison.

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