How indigenous cable operators with over 3,000 jobs wiped out in Nigeria

…As cable operators appeal to new owners of Multichoice

Explanations have emerged how almost all indigenous cable operators have crashed out of business, causing massive job losses and anguish to families. This is as the operators have appealed to new owners of Multichoice not to continue with monopolistic approaches that led to the crash of local operators.

Cable operators are indicated as professionals and companies that install, maintain, and manage video distribution networks such as coaxial cables and broadband amplifiers, to deliver television and internet services to subscribers. In Nigeria, major pay-tv providers include DStv, GOtv, and StarTimes. These providers operate as Multiple System Operators (MSOs), providing entertainment and broadband to homes and businesses.

Local cable operators however are retailers who redistribute major content especially foreign ones like football to attract paid viewership. They are said to be relying on the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Code which makes it mandatory for any big operator to share access with smaller ones. The Code also outlawed groups from outside Nigeria from imposing exclusive rights practice in Nigeria.

One cable operator that survived the alleged onslaught, Metro Digital Limited, based in Port Harcourt, told newsmen Monday, May 11, 2026, morning that all other 20 other operators have crashed out, taking along over 3000 direct jobs and numerous indirect jobs (such as agents).

Paul Osuji, operations manager of Metro Digital, addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt, revealed how they have faced many lawsuits up to the Supreme Court, and numerous raids by both the security agencies (EFCC) with other armed security operatives procured by Multichoice for enforcement.

Osuji appealed to Canal of France, the new owners of Multichoice, to return to the NBC Code and encourage competition.

The French media giant Canal+ Group (a subsidiary of Vivendi) acquired full ownership of MultiChoice Group, allegedly leading to a $3bn deal late in 2025 in an acquisition that merged Canal+ with Africa’s largest pay-TV operator (DStv, GOtv, Showmax), hoping to create a global entertainment powerhouse.

Osuji said how much to pay multichoice by the local retailers was not the reason for the lawsuits because the Code gave the payment grades. “We wrote them to give us bank accounts to pay what the law said we should pay, but they refused. The appeal court ruled that NBC should call a round table meeting but after four attempts now to NBC issued a binding directive asking Multichoice to make the requested channels available to Metrodigital based on the pricing formula stipulated in the Code.

He said hopes were high that Canal would not seek to impose monopoly and would rather encourage the survival of local cable operators. He made it clear they were not pirating and wondered why some law enforcement agencies preferred to support foreign operators over the indigenous ones.