MTN revives streaming ambitions with new pan-African platform

MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecoms company, has launched MTN One TV, a streaming platform that gives the operator another shot at Africa’s video entertainment market nearly a decade after its South Africa-focused FrontRow service failed to gain traction.

In a Monday statement, the company said MTN One TV will offer a mix of free-to-view, advertising-supported, pay-per-view, and subscription-based content models depending on local market conditions.

The launch marks MTN’s most ambitious attempt yet to build a pan-African content business, one that could immediately tap into the group’s 307.2 million subscribers reported at the end of 2025. While the company has not disclosed which markets will receive MTN One TV first, it operates across 16 African countries, giving the platform distribution scale that few regional streaming rivals can match.

The platform, which combines live television, local content, and international programming, will be rolled out progressively across MTN’s markets as the company seeks to capture a larger share of Africa’s growing digital entertainment economy.

“The proposition is designed to give customers greater choice in how they watch content, with viewing models that may vary by market and can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded experiences, pay-as-you-watch access, and subscription offerings,” MTN said “Depending on local availability, customers may also be able to pay through airtime, Mobile Money, and other locally supported payment methods, helping to reduce common barriers to streaming access.”

The move reflects a broader push by African telecom operators to expand beyond connectivity into digital services, content, and fintech. In December 2025, Vodacom launched the Value News Network (VNN) as part of a broader digital engagement strategy, and Safaricom has continued to deepen the integration of content and digital services. 

MTN One TV extends that evolution into video entertainment, using the group’s network reach, mobile money infrastructure, and billing relationships to address barriers that have historically constrained streaming adoption across Africa, including payment friction, affordability, and limited access to international credit cards.

The launch also comes as Africa’s streaming landscape undergoes significant change. Showmax, the subscription streaming service previously operated by Canal+-owned MultiChoice, shut down in April as the company shifted focus to DStv Stream, its linear over-the-top (OTT) offering, creating an opening for telecom operators seeking to bundle content, connectivity, and payments into a single ecosystem.

“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation,” Selorm Adadevoh, MTN Group Chief Commercial, Strategy and Transformation Officer, said. “Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies. This is aligned with our ambition to deliver digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”

The launch builds on MTN’s partnership with video software company Synamedia in April 2025 to develop a pan-African streaming platform initially targeted at Nigeria before expanding across its footprint.

MTN is no stranger to streaming. In December 2014, the operator launched FrontRow, later rebranded as VU, in South Africa. It was a Netflix-style video-on-demand service offering movies and television shows through subscriptions and pay-per-view rentals. The company later cut prices from R179 ($10.85) to R99 ($6) monthly in an effort to compete with Netflix and Showmax. 

The service ultimately failed to scale and was discontinued in 2017 as competition intensified and consumer adoption remained limited.

In 2018, MTN launched MusicTime, a music streaming platform that gained modest traction across several markets by allowing users to stream and download music while managing data usage. Unlike FrontRow, however, MusicTime remained an audio product and never evolved into a broader entertainment platform. MTN also discontinued Ayoba, its instant messaging app, in March to consolidate its digital services ecosystem under its Ambition 2030 Strategy.

In 2021, MTN partnered with South African broadcaster eMedia on eVOD, providing technology and distribution support, though the service remained eMedia’s product rather than an MTN-owned platform.

Those earlier efforts highlight the challenges of building sustainable streaming businesses in African markets, where content licencing costs, limited broadband penetration, and low consumer spending power have historically constrained growth.

MTN One TV highlights the company’s first attempt to build a scaled, pan-African video entertainment proposition by combining content distribution, mobile payments, and telecom infrastructure.

The company said the rollout will occur in phases, with content partnerships and viewing experiences tailored to individual markets before being consolidated under the MTN One TV brand over time.