Time running out for 12 DStv channels
MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery have yet to renew an agreement that will allow the South African broadcaster to distribute the US media giant’s channels, movies, and series beyond 2025.
MultiChoice first warned customers that it might be cutting 12 Warner Bros. Discovery channels from its bouquets at the end of the year in a statement on 1 December 2025.
The company explained that negotiations over terms and pricing for the content, which have been ongoing for several months, had deadlocked.
In more recent feedback to the Sunday Times, MultiChoice again confirmed that no new agreement had been reached, with less than two weeks left before the current deal expires.
The company reaffirmed that should this remain the case, the channels will no longer be part of its DStv bouquets from 1 January 2026, the day after the current licensing deal expires.
“As always, any updates that may affect our customers will be communicated directly and transparently,” MultiChoice told the Sunday Times.
The channels in jeopardy are Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, CNN, Discovery, Discovery Family, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Real Time, TLC, TNT Africa, and Travel Channel.
Netwerk24 previously reported that the scope of the deals under discussion also covered the licensing of movies and series for distribution on MultiChoice’s M-Net channels, DStv Stream, and Showmax.
That includes hundreds of highly popular titles from the premium television network and service HBO, which have been a major selling point for MultiChoice’s services.
Earlier in December, Showmax’s Best of HBO page had over 190 titles, including hit series like The Last of Us, IT: Welcome to Derry, Dune: Prophecy, The Chair Company, and House of the Dragon.
When MyBroadband visited the service’s Best of HBO content page on 21 December 2025, we were greeted with a 404 error. However, HBO’s titles were still available to stream on the service.
MyBroadband asked MultiChoice whether this particular issue was related to the Warner Bros. Discovery negotiations, but it did not immediately respond to our request for feedback.
Other well-known franchises in the Warner Bros. Discovery stable include Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and superhero movies and series in the DC Comics Universe.
Warner Bros. Discovery in a tug of war between two giants
Complicating MultiChoice’s predicament is that Warner Bros. Discovery is currently caught in a tug of war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance.
The world’s biggest streaming service and the Ellison family-owned broadcasting giant both want to buy the company.
On 5 December, Netflix announced it had reached a definitive agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to acquire the company’s studios, streaming, and HBO businesses for $82.7 billion (R1.4 trillion).
Three days later, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid for all of Warner Bros, including its global TV network business, for $108 billion (R1.8 trillion).
After negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery’s leadership failed, Paramount is approaching shareholders directly, offering $30 per share compared to Netflix’s $27.75.
However, under Netflix’s deal, the TV network business would be spun off into Discovery Global, with Warner Bros. shareholders receiving shares in the new firm.
The value of this newly formed entity has been the subject of much speculation, especially in light of the overall decline in the linear TV industry.
Paramount has argued that the value of the shares would only be worth around $1, but analysts have estimated they could be closer to $4.
Paramount has also maintained that its offer is more likely to pass regulatory approvals as the merging of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery would create a much more valuable entity.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board has unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount’s bid and accept Netflix’s offer.
Its chairman said that Paramount’s offer was “inadequate, with significant risks and costs” for shareholders.
Regardless of the outcome of the bidding war, the transaction is expected to clear all regulatory hurdles and be completed by late 2026.
That would likely make it difficult for Warner Bros. Discovery to commit to a multi-year agreement with MultiChoice.
If Netflix acquires the company, it plans to offer its movies and series on its own streaming service, which is Showmax’s biggest rival.
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