Manny Ita
MultiChoice Nigeria on January 13, 2026, announced the appointment of Kemi Omotosho as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking a historic transition as she becomes the first woman to lead the company’s Nigerian operations.
Omotosho succeeds John Ugbe, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm, a period during which the pay-TV operator navigated major regulatory changes and the growing competition from digital streaming platforms.
Omotosho brings more than 20 years of professional experience across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a career shaped by customer-focused strategies and operational leadership. A trained biochemist, she began her corporate career in the telecommunications sector with Airtel Nigeria before joining MultiChoice in 2014.
Since then, she has held several senior roles, including Executive Head of Customer Value Management in Nigeria, where she led initiatives to reduce subscriber churn and drive revenue growth, and Group Executive Head of Customer Value Management for the Rest of Africa, overseeing functional leadership across more than 50 markets. Most recently, she served as Regional Director for Southern Africa, with full profit-and-loss responsibility for a seven-country portfolio.
Her appointment comes at a pivotal time for Nigeria’s media and entertainment industry, as MultiChoice continues to adapt to changing consumer habits and economic pressures. Company officials said her mandate will focus on strengthening investment in local storytelling, accelerating digital transformation as viewing shifts from satellite to data-driven platforms, and stabilising subscriber numbers amid inflation and reduced consumer spending by refining customer value and pricing strategies.
Commenting on her appointment, Omotosho said, “Nigeria remains one of the Group’s most strategic and dynamic markets. I look forward to working with our teams to deepen our relationship with consumers and build a future-ready organization that delivers sustainable value.” MultiChoice said the leadership change followed a structured succession process designed to ensure continuity and operational stability for its DStv and GOtv subscriber base.
The appointment comes in the wake of Canal+’s acquisition of the MultiChoice Group, completed in late 2025, and is widely seen as part of a broader post-acquisition restructuring aimed at strengthening the company’s competitive position against global streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime in the African market.
