Emmanuel TV owned by late Prophet Temitope Babatunde Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations and Nigerian controversial cleric will no longer be broadcasting on MultiChoice platforms, DStv and GOtv.
The highly viewed Emmanuel TV (DStv 390), a religious TV channel, announced its departure from MultiChoice’s DStv and GOTV, as well as other pay-TV services, effective January 17th, 2024.
MultiChoice confirmed that Emmanuel TV would no longer be available on DStv and GOtv packages starting from January 17th, 2024.
It was learnt that apart from MultiChoice, Emmanuel TV would also exit StarSat and other pay-tv platforms.
This development comes amid the three-part documentary by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) detailing the alleged atrocities and sexual crimes committed by late TB. Joshua on his disciples.
Joshua died on June 5, 2021. As part of the investigation, the BBC interviewed at least 30 former members and workers of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). The first installment of the documentary is scheduled to be released on January 8.
The 3-part documentary revealed the clandestine lifestyle of the now-deceased founder of SCOAN. It detailed stories of abuse, harassment, rape, manipulation, and staged miracles. Sources told the BBC that the church knew about all the allegations but never investigated them. They alleged the sexual crime spanned over two decades.
A part of the documentary revealed how SCOAN shielded its congregation from the truth about the collapse of one of the church’s guesthouses in 2014. A video that was shown multiple times to members on Emmanuel TV showed a short clip of the structure with something that seemed like an aircraft flying over it.
Emmanuel TV, founded by the late televangelist TB Joshua in Nigeria in 2006, gained popularity and expanded its reach through its YouTube channel, which became one of the most subscribed Christian ministry YouTube channels globally.
However, in April 2021, YouTube shut down the channel due to “gay curing” claims, as it violated policies against alleging mental illness, disease, or inferiority based on membership in a protected group, including sexual orientation.
Consequently, Emmanuel TV had to start over on YouTube, and some of its posts were also removed by Facebook for the same reasons.
Following TB Joshua’s passing in June 2021, Emmanuel TV has relied heavily on rebroadcasting old content and repeats of the late televangelist’s programmes, producing less new content compared to the prolific scale during Joshua’s lifetime.
It was gathered that the new management at the Synagogue Church of All Nations led by the wife of the late founder, Pastor Evelyn Joshua, are facing numerous challenges following the inability of the new management to fully step into the shoes of late T.B. Joshua.
Though the new management seems to be trying their best to revive the church after the demise of Prophet Joshua through various programmes to win back their lost members and equally win new members, that has not been achieved yet.