‘Nigeria Remains Our Strategic North Star’: DStv Media Sales Reaffirms Commitment to Local Advertisers, Unveils Growth Blueprint

By Azeez Disu

“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.” — David Ogilvy, Father of Modern Advertising

In the modern African market, “speaking the audience’s language” extends far beyond vocabulary, it is about cultural resonance, native storytelling, and meeting consumers on the screens they interact with every single day. On Thursday evening, against the sophisticated backdrop of The Royal Box in Victoria Island, Lagos, this timeless marketing principle took centre stage at the 10th edition of the DStv Media Sales Industry Event.

Gathering Nigeria’s foremost brand custodians, agency leaders, and marketing strategists, the event offered an exclusive look into a rapidly evolving video ecosystem. At the heart of the discourse was a simple yet transformative narrative: the strategic union of MultiChoice and global entertainment powerhouse CANAL+. Together, the unified group is establishing Africa’s largest canvas for brand storytelling,equipping advertisers with cross-border reach across 250 million households while doubling down on authentic, local engagement tailored specifically for the dynamic Nigerian consumer.

A Global Powerhouse with a Nigerian Heart

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” — Seth Godin

Opening the evening’s formal proceedings, Doris Ohanugo, Senior Vice President, DStv Media Sales, Nigeria, welcomed guests to what marked the first major industry engagement following a milestone year of business integration.

“As we celebrate this important milestone and mark one year of a unified global business, we thought it was important to bring you updates and insights as our valued partners,” Ohanugo noted. “Today is dedicated to you, to strengthen the partnership that continues to drive our collective success. Expect more as we build the future together.”

The global scale of the merged entity is staggering: CANAL+ operates in over 70 countries worldwide, spanning 47 African markets covering 1.2 billion people and 250 million households. Yet, throughout the presentation, executive leadership repeatedly underscored that Nigeria remains the strategic north star of the enterprise.

Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee, Group CEO of DStv Media Sales and CEO of CANAL+ Advertising, highlighted how the structural alignment across French, English, and Portuguese-speaking clusters opens up frictionless continent-wide expansion for Nigerian brands, whilst doubling down on local excellence.

“The coming together of MultiChoice and CANAL+ gives us an opportunity to be Africa’s biggest stage for your brand,” Cassim-Surtee stated. “It is about giving advertisers access to premium audiences at scale in premium video environments. Whether headquartered in Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi, or Abidjan, Nigeria remains a fundamental anchor of who we represent.”

Cassim-Surtee further revealed that the group is investing aggressively in digital automation, cross-platform ad management, AI-powered scheduling, and precision measurement tools designed to simplify trading for media planners. “Access to richer content and shared tech expertise allows us to build our digital muscles and deliver true value, because advertising and technology now move hand in hand,” she added.

Nigeria’s Consumer Evolution: Agility, Value, and Electrified Homes

“The best time to invest in a market is when fundamentals align with demographic momentum.” — Marketing Principle

Delivering a grounded, market-focused address, Kemi Omotosho, CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria (a CANAL+ company), presented a compelling case for optimism regarding the macroeconomic trajectory of Nigeria. Citing a total population of 230 million and 21 million households, with a targeted reach into 1 out of every 2 electrified households, Omotosho emphasised that Nigerian consumers present an unmatched opportunity for agile brands.

“The stats are telling us that this economy is going in the right direction, and there is no better time to invest in your business than right now,” Omotosho asserted. “We know viewer habits have changed; consumers spend more time on their personal devices than ever before. Our promise is to maintain our local flavor while offering world-class content at scale.”

Underlining the synergy between telecommunications infrastructure and broadcast reach, Omotosho singled out the role of mobile connectivity in driving video consumption: “Thanks to telecom giants, Nigeria boasts over 157 million data subscriptions, which provides a crucial foundation as we scale rapidly into the streaming space.”

Connected TV: Nigeria Leading Africa’s Digital Ad Revolution

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” — John Wanamaker (A problem Connected TV is actively solving)

One of the night’s most electrifying sessions came from Shamiel Sallie, Senior Vice President, Digital Advertising, CANAL+ Group, who shared striking data on Nigeria’s digital sophistication.

“I have spent the last four days with many of you learning one specific thing: Nigeria leads Africa in digital advertising by far,” Sallie revealed. “According to PwC projections, by 2029 Nigeria will lead the world in digital advertising growth speed.

The brains in this room, the progressive regulations, the 170 million connected devices, and localized data centers put Nigeria in a class of its own.”

Sallie identified Connected TV (CTV) as the single largest growth frontier for Nigerian brands. With DStv Stream operating commercially across 47 African countries, making it the largest commercial streaming platform on the continent, outstripping global peers, Nigerian viewers generated over 61 million video impressions over the last nine months alone, predominantly across live sports and flagship local productions.

Backing this scale is an enterprise ad-tech stack built on global standard platforms including Magnite, Google Ad Manager, The Trade Desk, Nvidia, and ITO. “Our digital tech stack in Nigeria is ahead of most European markets within CANAL+,” Sallie noted. “My single ask to advertisers tonight is simple: lock in your budgets early to secure the biggest moments, premier positions, and maximum return on ad spend.”

Industry Voices: Advertisers and Agencies Rally Behind the Vision

The evening wasn’t merely a broadcast from leadership; key agency executives and brand captains took to the stage to voice their endorsement of the multi-year partnership.

Seni Adetu, Group CEO and Founder of Algorithm Media, reflected on a decade of collaborative growth:

“We’ve been on this journey with DStv Media Sales for 10 years, celebrating a decade of partnership this year. What has made this decade remarkable is constant innovation and richer content.

As a media practitioner, I am super excited because this partnership with CANAL+ enables the true globalisation of our local Nigerian content, and I have no doubt they will over-deliver on that promise.”

Echoing similar enthusiasm, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), MTN Nigeria, commended the platform’s agility and content distribution:

“We are extremely delighted and congratulate the team on the tremendous progress made. From an advertiser’s perspective, we are very excited about how this brings great content, premium viewing experiences, and operational flexibility to the Nigerian market.”

Adding to this, Omotosho, MultiChoice Executive, reiterated the customer-first philosophy driving the new product line-ups: “We are moving with the times, repackaging our services to ensure we understand and serve subscriber viewing habits wherever they are.”