Paramount Africa shuts down after 20 years

On Techpoint Digest, we discuss Paramount Africa's closure after 20 years, Nigeria's banks can no longer throw jabs, and the CBN's efforts to combat rising push-payment fraud.

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Victoria from Techpoint here,

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Paramount Africa shuts down after 20 years

Nigeria’s banks can’t throw jabs anymore

CBN moves to curb rising push-payment fraud

Paramount Africa shuts down after 20 years

Paramount Africa is officially shutting down at the end of December 2025, drawing the curtain on more than two decades of operations in South Africa and Nigeria. The company, which once reached over 100 million viewers across 52 African territries, confirmed it will close its doors as part of a massive global restructuring at its parent company, Paramount Global.

This is the same Paramount Africa behind channels like BET, MTV, MTV Base, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and more. Its digital footprint has also been significant, with millions of monthly page views, social media engagements, and content partnerships across Africa. But despite that scale, rising costs and a global strategic reset have caught up with the business.

Paramount’s retrenchment has been building for months. Earlier this year, plans to launch a standalone Paramount+ app in South Africa were quietly shelved. Then in August, the company said its content would remain available only via DStv and Showmax. And last month, MultiChoice confirmed that BET Africa and MTV Base will disappear from DStv and GOtv on 1 January 2026, as Paramount Africa winds down entirely.

Industry watchers, including TV critic Thinus Ferreira, say the shutdown is tied to aggressive cost-cutting after Paramount’s merger with Skydance. The company is targeting a 15% reduction in global staff and $3 billion in savings. International divisions, including Africa, have taken the hardest hit as the business pivots away from linear TV and doubles down on a more streamlined streaming-first model.

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