Canal+ Targets MultiChoice Revival With €100m Investment Amid Markets Pressures

…Over 500,000 Subscribers Lost, Revenue Drops To €2.4bn

French media conglomerate Canal+ has unveiled a €100m turnaround plan aimed at restoring growth at African pay-TV operator MultiChoice Group, as declining subscriber numbers, economic pressures in key markets including Nigeria, and intensifying competition from streaming services weigh on the broadcaster’s performance.

The investment plan follows a challenging financial year in which the company behind the continent’s largest satellite television platform, DStv, lost approximately 500,000 subscribers and recorded a decline in revenue.

According to Canal+’s latest financial results, MultiChoice ended 2025 with 14.4 million subscribers, down from 14.9 million recorded in the previous year.

Revenue also fell by six per cent to €2.4bn, while adjusted earnings before interest and tax declined 14 per cent to €159m.

The French media group acknowledged the scale of the challenges facing the business, describing 2025 as another challenging year for MultiChoice due largely to subscriber losses and an operating cost structure that had become unsustainably high.

Industry analysts say the downturn reflects broader economic pressures across African markets where weakening currencies, rising living costs and persistent infrastructure constraints are affecting household spending on non-essential services such as pay television.

In particular, Canal+ noted that currency depreciation in key markets such as Nigeria has significantly eroded consumer purchasing power, making it more difficult for households to maintain pay-TV subscriptions.

In addition, frequent electricity shortages in several African countries have limited viewing hours for many households, further dampening demand.

The broadcaster is also grappling with intensifying competition from global streaming platforms, which continue to attract younger viewers and offer flexible, lower-cost alternatives to traditional satellite television packages.

Another challenge cited by Canal+ is the underperformance of Showmax, MultiChoice’s streaming service. The company described one of Showmax’s key contracts as an expensive failure and recently terminated the arrangement as part of broader efforts to reduce costs and refocus on its core pay-TV operations.

To address the downturn, Canal+ plans to implement a €100 million “boost plan” beginning in 2026.

The strategy is designed to restart subscriber growth, strengthen content offerings and improve profitability across MultiChoice’s operations in Africa.

A central pillar of the plan is increased investment in content. Canal+ said it intends to assemble what it described as the best content on the African continent by combining premium international programming with expanded locally produced films, television series and sports content tailored to regional audiences.

The group also plans to simplify subscription packages and revise pricing structures to make them easier for consumers to understand and more affordable for new subscribers.

In addition, Canal+ aims to expand MultiChoice’s distribution network by lowering the cost of entry for new customers. This will include subsidising equipment such as decoders and satellite dishes to encourage more households to adopt the platform.

To support the subscriber drive, the company intends to recruit more than 1,000 sales representatives across its African markets as it shifts MultiChoice toward what executives describe as a more “sales-driven” business model.

Alongside the investment programme, Canal+ is pursuing an aggressive cost-reduction strategy to stabilise MultiChoice’s financial performance. The group plans to introduce a voluntary severance scheme for certain support staff and restructure Irdeto, the technology and cybersecurity subsidiary within the MultiChoice group.

These restructuring efforts are expected to deliver substantial financial savings. Canal+ said it now anticipates generating more than €250m in operational synergies by 2026, significantly higher than its earlier estimate of €150m.

The projected savings will stem from several measures, including the termination of the Showmax contract, organisational restructuring at MultiChoice and the rationalisation of company-owned real estate assets across its operations.

However, achieving these savings will come at a cost. Canal+ estimates that restructuring expenses will range between €70m and €100m.

Despite the ambitious turnaround strategy, the French media group warned that MultiChoice’s subscriber base may continue to decline slightly in 2026, although the pace of the decline is expected to slow as the recovery plan begins to take effect.

Adjusted earnings before interest and tax are projected to improve modestly to about €170m as the impact of cost savings gradually offsets weaker revenue and rising operating expenses.

Canal+ gained effective control of MultiChoice on September 20, 2025 after acquiring a majority stake in the company.

It subsequently bought out the remaining shareholders, leading to the delisting of MultiChoice from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in December 2025.

The French media company has indicated that it plans to complete a secondary listing on the JSE before June 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen its presence in Africa’s rapidly expanding media and entertainment sector.

Industry observers say the turnaround plan underscores the growing challenges confronting traditional pay-TV operators across Africa, where economic pressures, volatile currencies and the rapid expansion of digital streaming services are forcing broadcasters to rethink their business models and adapt to changing consumer behaviour.