MTN Group has launched MTN One TV, a pan-African streaming platform that marks the telecoms giant’s most ambitious attempt yet to build a sustainable video entertainment business on the continent. The announcement was made on June 8, 2026, and follows more than a decade of unsuccessful efforts to crack Africa’s streaming market.
What MTN One TV Offers
The platform combines live television, local content, and international programming, with a content model deliberately designed for African market realities. Depending on the country, users can access content through free-to-view tiers, advertising-supported experiences, pay-per-view, or full subscriptions. Crucially, MTN is enabling payment through airtime balances, Mobile Money, and other locally supported methods. This is an approach that directly addresses the payment friction that has long kept millions of African consumers locked out of streaming services that require international credit cards.
The rollout is phased. MTN plans to tailor content partnerships and viewing experiences to individual markets before consolidating them under the One TV brand over time. The company has not disclosed which markets will receive the platform first.
A Market Opening
The timing of One TV’s launch is deliberate. Showmax, previously operated by Canal+-owned MultiChoice, shut down in April 2026 after the group shifted focus to DStv Stream, its linear over-the-top offering. That exit removed one of the continent’s best-known streaming brands from the market and created an opening that MTN, with its 307.2 million subscribers across 16 African countries, is well-positioned to fill — at least in terms of distribution scale.
The broader direction of African telecoms is also aligned with this move. Vodacom launched the Value News Network in December 2025 as part of a digital engagement strategy, and Safaricom has continued integrating content and digital services into its platform. MTN One TV extends that shift into full-scale video entertainment.
What separates this attempt from FrontRow is the infrastructure MTN now controls. The combination of mobile money, airtime billing, and a subscriber base of more than 300 million gives One TV a structural advantage that its predecessors simply did not have.
