Has Canal+ Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew With Multichoice Purchase?
· WeeTrackerHas Canal+ Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew With Its Purchase Of Multichoice?
By
Wayua Muli
| December 4, 2025
Africa’s biggest pay TV provider, Multichoice, is facing major headwinds resulting in severe loss in subscriber count in the period since it was acquired by French media giant Canal+.
Not only is Multichoice facing massive subscriber churn, but it is also facing the potential loss of over 12 international channels that it distributes across Africa, following deadlocks in distribution discussions. Among the channels the business may lose are significant ones such as The Food Network and CNN.
This information came to light during Canal+’s latest strategy and outlook presentation, and the first once since its purchase of Multichoice was confirmed. Per the French owned pay TV conglomerate, the brutal subscriber loss has climbed up to 2.8 million users in South Africa alone by the year ended September 2025, from a peak number of 17.3 million subscribers at the end of March 2023. This represents a 16% decline in numbers.
While this number is reflective of the situation in South Africa only, other countries such as Kenya have also recorded a similar trend. In Kenya alone, numbers dipped by 84% in the year preceding September 2025, as detailed in a Communications Authority report released in September. In Nigeria, Multichoice lost 1.4 million subscribers in the two-year period ended June 2025. Both Nigeria and Kenya are key markets for the African entertainment provider.
The decline is attributed to the entry of global streaming service Netflix in 2016, which is when Multichoice’s DStv started to experience this steep decline. Unlike Multichoice, which requires heavy hardware investment and offers steep package pricing, all one needs to access Netflix is a reliable internet connection and a paid subscription.
also read See All
Free Reads
Egypt’s MCIT Launches Aswan Bootcamp Series to Empower Startups in Upper Egypt
Free Reads
Nigeria, Kenya & The 5 Stingiest Tax-Free Floors In Africa
Free Reads
Africa’s Economic Growth Stunted by Global Trade Tensions – World Bank Says
Free Reads
Branch Cumulatively Loans Kenya USD 10 Mn After Recent USD 5 Mn Issuance
Free Reads
Top African Bank To Open Office In China As It Seeks To Expand To Asia
Free Reads
Nigeria Is Africa’s Richest Country But South Africa & Egypt Have More People With USD 30 Mn+
Free Reads
Bridging the STEM Gender Gap in Lesotho: Mapharisa’s Girls Coding Academy Is Breaking The Stereotype
Free Reads
What You should know about the payment landscape in Kenya
Multichoice has tried to counter Netflix’s invasion with its own streaming service, Showmax; however, Showmax has faced its own difficulties in the recent past, with multiple users reporting difficulty in paying for their subscriptions, as well as a recent partnership with Peacock TV which saw disruptions in access to its platforms while the two respective company’s apps were merged.
Multichoice has previously tried to stem this churn by combining its Premium offering with its Compact Plus, creating a new subscribtion tier called. It has also changed its reporting period from overall subscriber gain or loss over the course of a financial year, to a ’90-day active subscriber’ period. None of these moves has stalled or reversed the loss. They also failed to address customer dissatisfaction with the overall product; in a world overtaken by on-demand viewing, is there still space for non-news, non-sports appointment entertainment? Multichoice also stands accused of poor overall television offerings.
According to MultiChoice’s pre-takeover report, currency depreciation was one of the culprits, as was economic disruption across the contiment, and piracy. Among the company’s measures to overtake its circumstances was an aggressive price hike – even while subscribers walked away.
Recently, Canal+ announced its rescue plan, which included bringing the prices of hardware and subscriptions down, as well enhancing its African offering. However, the question still remains: With Multichoice increasingly seeming like a relic from the past in a world overtaken by the instant demand for entertainment, is there still space for it in African homes, or should they pivot entirely and focus on streaming-only services?