The reception of China’s StarTimes in Nigeria

Studies on Chinese media in Africa tend to focus on China’s ongoing quest to dominate the world, the negative perceptions of China by Africans and efforts to polish the former’s image through media partnerships with national governments. These efforts generate debates on the efficacy of China’s soft power. Extant literature suggests that interrogating the efficacy of Chinese soft power must acknowledge the agency of audiences but fails to recognize the limits of such agency. Therefore, focusing on Chinese-owned StarTimes and using a three-stage qualitative research approach, this article pushes the boundaries of China’s soft power in Nigeria by examining its reception among local audiences and users. It argues that taking cognizance of China’s strategies, such as increased investment-by-fronting, co-option and cheap services, is useful in locating its appeal among subscribers and in understanding the boundaries of audience agency. Thus, audiences and users are compelled to renegotiate reception through the social formation facilitated by online communities including news blogs and WhatsApp group chats. The article contributes to the debates on media imperialism and Sino-Africa relations by drawing together soft power analyses and reception strategies of entertainment media.