MultiChoice, the parent company of DStv, has warned Nigerian subscribers that CNN International and 11 other Warner Bros. Discovery channels may go offline from January 1, 2026, if ongoing negotiations with the American media giant fail to yield a new broadcast agreement.
In a message to customers on Monday, MultiChoice stated that the current carriage deal with Warner Bros. Discovery expires on December 31, 2025. They wrote:
While discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, a number of Warner Bros. Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from 1 January 2026.
DStv, operated by South Africa-based MultiChoice, first launched in Nigeria in 1994, marking the beginning of subscription-based pay television in the country and over the years, DStv became a household name, offering a mix of entertainment, news, documentaries, sports, and children’s programming.
However, the platform has faced frequent content cuts, price increases, and disputes with international broadcasters, making subscriber retention challenging.
12 DSTV Channels That May No Longer Be Available
- CNN International
- Discovery Channel
- TNT Africa
- TLC
- Food Network
- Cartoon Network
- HGTV
- Cartoonito
- Investigation Discovery
- Real Time
- Discovery Family
- Travel Channel
These content cuts may further deepen the platform’s challenges adding to the fact that Paramount Africa has already announced that BET Africa and MTV Base will stop airing on DStv from January 1, 2026, while CBS Reality and CBS Justice will shut down on December 31, 2025.
Subscriber Losses and Market Pressures
In the last two financial years, Multichoice lost 2.8 million active subscribers across Africa, including a 1.4 million drop in Nigeria. In 2025 alone, DStv lost 1.2 million users, split evenly between South Africa and other African markets.
Factors like rising subscription fees and growing living costs are key reasons households are cutting back on pay-TV services and experts warn that losing channels like CNN could further erode DStv’s appeal, leaving sports content as its strongest appeal.
It appears MultiChoice’s new parent company, Canal+, is trying to reposition DStv for Africa’s streaming competition through price adjustments, local content investment and a fresh push for premium football rights. The Canal+ MultiChoice group which serves more than 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia is expected to release a full strategic update in early 2026.
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