Rumour: Nigerian Idol Reportedly Cancelled Due To Cost Cutting At Canal+'s MultiChoice

Canal+ completed its acquisition of MultiChoice by late 2025 and have plans to save up toward R7.5 billion in costs. Several DStv consumers would have noticed the disappearance of HBO content on M-Net followed by the Winter Olympics on SuperSport.

Now there's word going around that Nigerian Idol might have gotten the boot at MultiChoice. Although this has yet to be confirmed several consumers had noticed there's been a lot of silence regarding the possibility of an 11th season.

Coincidentally, Nigerian Idol S10 even won at the 2026 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best Unscripted M-Net Original.

A few years ago, MultiChoice and M-Net cancelled Idols SA due to low viewership from what was heard about the show. Since then, it was reported that a revival was in the works or being shopped to another broadcaster being the SABC.

The first season went on air in October 2010 and is shown on 15 different channels all across Africa.

There have been ten following Nigerian Idol winners to date: Onyekachi Elizabeth Gilbert, Mercy Chinwo, Moses Obi Adigwe, Evelle, K-Peace, Kingdom Kroseide, Progress, Victory Gbakara, Purp and Chima Udoye.

With the possible cancellation of Nigerian Idol, this would leave DStv consumers with the African variants to Big Brother. Unlike Idols SA, Big Brother continues to be a staple at MultiChoice spanning adaptations in South Africa, Nigeria and Angola.