Update, 23 October 2026: We have corrected this story. Our earlier headline said One TV had launched in Nigeria. MTN's own announcement did not name Nigeria as a launch market, and we have found no MTN confirmation of a Nigerian go-live. The details below follow what MTN actually said.
MTN Group announced MTN One TV on 8 June 2026 in MTN's launch statement, which names no countries. It is a streaming service that mixes live channels, local shows and international titles and lets customers pay with airtime or Mobile Money instead of a bank card. MTN said it will roll out in phases across its markets. Business Day South Africa reported South Africa and Zambia as the first markets. Nigeria has not been confirmed.
"Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation," said Selorm Adadevoh, MTN Group's chief commercial, strategy and transformation officer, in MTN's launch statement as reported by Techpoint Africa.
What MTN has said
MTN describes four ways to watch: free-to-view, advertising-funded, pay-as-you-watch and subscription, varying by market. Payment by airtime, Mobile Money or other local methods depends on local availability. MTN has not published Nigerian prices. Connecting Africa reported that no pricing had been shared, that anyone can register with a local mobile number, but only MTN customers can subscribe.
BusinessDay reported the service rolling out gradually across MTN's 16 markets, built on its 307.2 million subscribers at the end of 2025. The platform grows out of a partnership with Synamedia announced in April 2025, which was first aimed at Nigeria before widening to the rest of MTN's markets.
Is it live in Nigeria?
Not confirmed. Several Nigerian outlets, including Legit.ng, put "in Nigeria" in their headlines, but the article itself says MTN has not named its first markets and only that Nigeria is expected to be among the first in a phased rollout. In September, MTN opened a pitch call for African producers that names Nigeria as one of four priority markets with South Africa, Ghana and Zambia. That signals commercial intent, but BusinessDay's report does not say the service is available to Nigerian viewers.
Producers should note the terms. Pitching guarantees no commission, and the call asked for lead producers with at least seven years of experience working through registered companies. The deadlines were 28 September and 5 October.
Why it matters for Nigerians
BusinessDay says the platform targets obstacles such as limited access to international payment cards. Airtime billing sidesteps that, and MTN already holds a billing relationship with its subscribers. If One TV does arrive in Nigeria with low-priced daily or weekly passes, it could reach viewers who have never paid for streaming.
Airtime billing has one limit to watch: video uses a lot of data, so a pay-as-you-watch film costs the ticket price plus the data to stream it, and MTN has not said whether streaming will be zero-rated.
MTN has also been here before. Its FrontRow service ran from 2014 to 2017 and was shut down. Showmax closed earlier in 2026, which may leave room for a new entrant, though BusinessDay lists rising content costs, uneven broadband and strained household budgets as risks.
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When does MTN One TV reach Nigeria?
- When, or whether, One TV goes live for MTN Nigeria customers.
- Nigerian prices, data costs and the channel and film lineup.
- Whether the Nigerian service follows the same rule that only MTN customers can subscribe.
- An MTN-hosted One TV web page (ngmtntv.mtn.com) offers a Nigeria country option; we did not sign in and cannot say whether it is open to the public.
- What revenue terms MTN will offer Nigerian producers. The pitch call states no guarantee of payment or commission.
- How the service will handle peak demand. We have no test data.
We will update this page when MTN announces Nigerian availability.
