Without MultiChoice, Ghana’s Film Industry Faces Further Collapse – A Filmmaker’s Plea

After a conversation with a Ghanaian filmmaker who, for personal reasons, wishes to remain anonymous, it became clear how deeply concerned many creatives like him are about the looming shutdown of MultiChoice Ghana.

This filmmaker, who has been directly impacted by Akwaaba Magic’s commissioning of local projects, decided to put their thoughts into a formal letter addressed to the Honourable Minister for Communication, Digital Technology & Innovations.

With their consent, I am publishing the letter here on GhMoviefreak.com in hopes that it sparks the much-needed conversation around policy, partnership, and the survival of Ghana’s creative economy.

Do read and share.

5 September 2025

Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP)
Minister for Communication, Digital Technology & Innovations
Accra, Ghana

Subject: Request to Reconsider the Intended Revocation/Suspension of MultiChoice Ghana’s Operating Licence

Honourable Minister,

I write as a concerned Ghanaian film producer and director who, for personal reasons, wishes to remain anonymous. I am deeply troubled by the Ministry’s public stance signalling a shutdown of MultiChoice Ghana by 6 September 2025 and the National Communications Authority’s 30-day notice of intention to suspend the company’s authorisation. These announcements, while framed as consumer protection measures, risk inflicting severe and lasting harm on Ghana’s creative economy.

First, Pay TV is a luxury, not a necessity. Ghanaians already have abundant free-to-air options; TV3, UTV, and the Joy platforms among many others – so those who cannot afford subscription services are not excluded from access to information and entertainment. Government’s role, in my respectful view, is to facilitate market choices, enforce transparency, and uphold fair competition not to shutter a private operator when there are numerous free alternatives.

Second, to avoid any presumption of partisan bias, I will state my position plainly. I have supported the NPP for most of my life but did not do so in the last election. If elections were held today, I would vote NDC again; I believe the President is doing a fine job. My concern here is policy over politics.

Third, the economic and cultural stakes are enormous. Beyond football and older Hollywood titles, MultiChoice’s Akwaaba Magic has been the single most important television platform sustaining Ghanaian film and TV in the last five years.

• I have personally produced over seven shows for Akwaaba Magic, with project values between GHS 1 million and GHS 6.5 million.
• From my experience, I estimate they spent over GHS 20 million producing Shirley Frimpong-Manso’s Dede.
• In one year alone, Akwaaba commissioned 68 projects; across five years, I believe 200+ projects have been commissioned industry-wide -injecting millions of cedis into productions, crews, vendors and talent.
• On my last Akwaaba project, I engaged over 750 Ghanaian workers.
• By contrast, a leading free-to-air network offered me GHS 3,000 per episode – about 6% of Akwaaba’s per-episode rate -an amount that cannot sustain professional crews or quality standards.

Akwaaba Magic has also been, to my knowledge, the only Ghanaian TV platform that pays cash to license locally-made films, series and talk shows. Beloved titles like DEDE, HOUSE OF KLU, MADAM, NANA AKOTO, QUEEN OF AKRA, ACCRA STAY BY PLAN, AMOANIMAA’S ERA, TANKO VILLA, ROCK THAT AISLE, PARTY OFFICE, ENO, BILLIONAIRE’S WIFE, ACCRA MEDICS, HIGH CURRENCY, and SEVSU exist at this scale because Akwaaba underwrote them. Removing MultiChoice risks collapsing this financing spine.

The ripple effects extend beyond producers and cast: hundreds of core employees at MultiChoice Ghana and thousands of independent installers and dealers rely on this ecosystem. If forced out, MultiChoice can – by precedent – pack and leave. Those who lose are Ghanaian workers, suppliers, and the thousands of willing subscribers who choose to pay for Pay TV.

Respectfully, sir, I ask that you reconsider the current course because what Ghana’s film & TV renaissance needs most is partnerships and collaborations at this crucial time. We have no ready substitute if MultiChoice exits; recent attempts by global streamers (Netflix and Amazon) to root deeply in our sub-region did not end well, as they left. We cannot afford to lose DSTV Akwaaba Magic and Showmax, so please let’s choose the better alternative to threats and shutdowns.

Should you require it, I am prepared to brief your office off the record with production budgets, payrolls and vendor lists to substantiate the scale of impact described above.

Yours faithfully,

Name Withheld
A Concerned Ghanaian Film Producer & Director
(Identity withheld for personal reasons)

The concerns of this filmmaker, shared through this letter, are ones I agree with. Over the years of closely monitoring the Ghanaian film space, I have not seen any single entity invest as much as MultiChoice has in recent times. It is easy to argue that it has become the backbone of Ghana’s film and TV space, providing opportunities that no other platform has matched.

This call for dialogue is necessary, and hopefully, it will yield some results.