MultiChoice Nigeria has revealed that the tenth season of Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) was illegally streamed more than five million times, highlighting the growing menace of digital piracy in the country.
Atinuke Babatunde, Executive Head of Content and Channels, West Africa, made the disclosure on Friday at the 2025 Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive) in Lagos, where industry stakeholders gathered under the theme “Powering Africa Through Creative Enterprise.”
She described the scale of piracy as a serious economic threat to Nigeria’s creative industry. “This is not mischief; it’s theft, and it is economic sabotage that must be stopped,” Babatunde said.
According to her, outdated copyright laws and weak cross-border protections have hampered anti-piracy efforts, urging urgent reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s legal framework in line with modern digital content consumption.
“We need modern copyright laws, enforcement frameworks, and cross-border protections,” she said, stressing that protecting creative content is essential for industry sustainability.
Babatunde’s remarks follow recent anti-piracy awareness walks led by MultiChoice across major Nigerian cities, aimed at educating the public on the dangers of illegal streaming and content theft.
She also emphasized the economic importance of the creative sector, stating: “When creativity rises, the entire economy rises. When African stories travel, African industry grows. When African creators thrive, Africans thrive.”
Urging continental stakeholders to protect Africa’s creative output, she added: “This is our moment not to dream but to build, not to respond but to lead, not to wait but to act. The continent’s creative century has already begun; let’s make sure Africa owns it.”
