MTN SHARES SLUMP TO SIX-YEAR LOW / NIGERIAN WOES DEEPEN

MTN Group shares slumped to a six-year low after a Nigerian senator claimed the wireless carrier may have illegally moved more than the previously estimated US$14bn out of the country, citing early findings from an investigation into the allegation.

The stock declined 2,3% to R107,50 by the close in Johannesburg, the lowest since July 2010, extending the fall since the allegations were first raised last month to 13%. MTN “categorically denies” the claims, its Nigeria unit’s CEO, Ferdi Moolman, told lawmakers in Abuja, the capital.

“We have realised from preliminary investigations that it is actually outrageously higher than” the original figure, Dino Melaye, the senator who raised the allegation last month, told reporters in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Netflix Selects Spectranet for First Server Deployment in West Africa

Netflix, the World’s leading Internet TV service and Spectranet, Nigeria’s leading 4G broadband service provider, said they have successfully deployed one of the first dedicated Netflix servers in Africa.

At CES 2016, Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and chief executive announced “… the birth of a new global internet TV network”.

With the launch, consumers around the world, Africa (Nigeria) inclusive, have started enjoying TV shows and movies simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the high capacity server Netflix is deploying through the partnership with Spectranet will hold the entire Netflix content library, in Lagos, providing Spectranet’s customers with the best possible video streaming performance. This solution offers faster delivery in a cost effective way.

Speaking on the new accomplishment by the Company, Mr David Venn, CEO of Spectranet, said, “because we focus on providing families with an excellent and affordable broadband service, this partnership with Netflix means that our customers will be able to enjoy the very best TV experience available in Nigeria. We are honoured that Netflix has selected Spectranet for one of its first deployments in Africa and the only one in West Africa.”

AREWA24 Launches On DStv, GOtv This Month

MultiChoice Nigeria is once again expanding its free-to-air (FTA) channel offerings on its DStv and GOtv platforms with the introduction of AREWA24, the first free‐to‐air Hausa‐language satellite television channel on20October and will be available on DStv channel 261 and GOtv channel 101.

AREWA24 is an all-Hausa lifestyle and entertainment television channel that showcases northern Nigerian life, culture, arts and entertainment and celebrates the promise and potential of Northern Nigeria for Hausa speakers across Nigeria, Africa, the Middle East and around the world.

In a little over two years, the channel prides itself on being the largest producer of original, high‐quality television programming in Hausa for Hausa speaking communities.

“We are giving our subscribers a variety of local content to choose from with AREWA24”, said John Ugbe, managing director, MultiChoice Nigeria on the addition of the channel to its FTA genre.