Corporate Colonialism Strikes Again: Paramount Axes Black Entertainment Channels in South Africa

In a devastating blow to African media representation, global entertainment giant Paramount is shutting down BET Africa and MTV Base on DStv, marking yet another instance of Western corporations abandoning Black audiences when profits dip. The closures, effective January 1, 2026, represent a profound disregard for African cultural expression and economic empowerment.

The Death of Black Media Representation

BET Africa, launched in April 2015, served as a crucial platform for Black South African content and culture. Its abrupt termination after just a decade exposes the fragile nature of Black media ownership under white corporate control. The channel's final act, fast-tracking episodes of the locally produced telenovela Black Gold, feels like a desperate attempt to clear inventory rather than honor African storytelling.

MTV Base's closure is equally devastating. For 20 years, this channel promised to showcase "music made by Africans for Africans," yet when corporate America tightened its belt, African voices were the first to be silenced. The channel's three regional feeds across East, West, and Southern Africa represented one of the few genuine pan-African media initiatives, now sacrificed on the altar of Western profit margins.

Colonial Patterns in Corporate Decision-Making

Paramount's decision follows a familiar colonial pattern: extract value from African markets during profitable times, then abandon local communities when global priorities shift. The company's "strategic review" and cost-cutting measures prioritize American operations while treating African audiences as expendable.

MultiChoice's response reveals the complicit nature of local gatekeepers in this cultural genocide. Their suggestion that viewers turn to "Sound City, Channel O, Trace Urban or Trace Africa" demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of BET Africa's unique role in amplifying South African Black voices and stories.

The Broader Attack on African Media

The simultaneous closure of CBS Reality and CBS Justice channels, operating for 24 and six years respectively, completes Paramount's withdrawal from meaningful African engagement. These closures represent more than programming changes; they signify the systematic dismantling of platforms that could have evolved to center African perspectives.

While Paramount maintains channels like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, targeting primarily white and mixed-race audiences, the specific targeting of Black-oriented content reveals the racial hierarchy embedded in corporate media strategies.

Resistance Through Local Content

The introduction of temporary channels like The Holiday Channel, focusing on "gospel music in an African context," and DStv 30's archival programming offers a glimpse of what authentic African media representation could achieve. However, their temporary nature underscores the precarious position of African content in a media landscape dominated by Western interests.

The preservation of M-Net's Afrikaans channel fliekNET during this period, while Black channels face extinction, highlights the persistent privileging of white South African culture over Black representation.

A Call for Media Decolonization

This corporate abandonment demands urgent action toward media decolonization. South Africa cannot continue relying on Western corporations to tell our stories or validate our cultural expressions. The closure of BET Africa and MTV Base should catalyze investment in truly African-owned and controlled media platforms.

The time has come for Black South Africans to reclaim narrative control from corporate colonizers who view our culture as disposable inventory. Only through genuine economic and media independence can we ensure our stories survive the whims of global capital.

The revolution will not be televised on Western-owned channels.