DStv turning into the SABC
MultiChoice must radically transform and reimagine its pay-TV service, DStv, to remain competitive in a market that is increasingly being dominated by new technologies.
This is the view of veteran television journalist Thinus Ferreira, who told MyBroadband that MultiChoice has been overwhelmed by internal conflict in the first three months since the Canal+ takeover.
“Some radical transformation and reimagining of DStv will be required for it to sidestep the trajectory that traditional pay-TV is on,” he said.
He noted that pay-TV operators in South Africa and Africa are following a similar trajectory to markets like the United States, with ongoing and significant subscriber erosion.
“Canal+ will have to map out how it sees DStv, M-Net, Showmax, and SuperSport, not just as brands for the decades ahead, but how it sees the brands and offerings it wants to continue with flourishing,” said Ferreira.
He likened the challenges facing Canal+ and DStv to those the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has faced.
“In the perpetual race in broadcasting, the SABC stopped running with many things and fell behind. The same danger confronts Canal+ and DStv,” said Ferreira.
“What is DStv in 2026? How does DStv look in 2036? How does DStv meet the 2026 and the 2036 consumer at a cost where the consumer will find it valuable?”
Groupe Canal+ gained control of the MultiChoice Group in September 2025, following a lengthy mandatory buyout process. The final phase of the transaction commenced on 13 October 2025.
Ferreira said MultiChoice has been rocked by internal conflict, cost-cutting, and culture clashes in the months following the transaction.
“Canal+ ordered MultiChoice to do the dirty work to tell suppliers and service providers their previously agreed contracts are getting cut 20%,” he said. Canal+ soon walked this instruction back.
Ferreira added that Canal+, and therefore MultiChoice, is confronted by bigger fish in the form of streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Ferreira explained that these companies have more money to spend on content, adding that “it is just a matter of time before they rip away more sports — the lifeblood of traditional pay-TV”.
“WWE already jumped to Netflix. In Australia, the English Premier League (EPL) jumped from traditional pay-TV to a streamer, along with a lot of rugby, and basically all cricket, to Amazon Prime Video,” he said.
He added that, in South Africa, the problem isn’t that the SABC or E-tv can’t buy premium sports rights, but because they are too expensive.
“SuperSport, therefore, gobbles it up. But again, a bigger fish is moving up from the depths and will start snapping up what SuperSport used to feed on,” said Ferreira.
“In that sense, DStv stands to be eclipsed at some point in time, in the way that DStv eclipsed the SABC.”
Canal+ is scared of Netflix
Globally, a trend of cord-cutting is being observed as television viewers abandon traditional pay-TV, and this trend has arrived for DStv in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the players driving this trend is Netflix, which Ferreira said is the bigger fish that Canal+ is scared of.
“It’s causing a double-whammy — what traditional pay-TV consumers like DStv subscribers used to get content-wise keeps getting less premium, while they’re asked constantly to pay more for an eroding offering,” he said.
“If Canal+ wants to save DStv, it will have to find ways to make DStv more desirable to consumers at a lower price point.”
This means giving consumers a compelling enough reason, or reasons, to pay for the DStv service, which Ferreira says has become bloated and diluted its value offering.
This particularly applies to DStv Premium subscribers. These subscribers could afford to jump ship to streaming services first, and are now being followed by the rest.
“Competitors like Netflix, Disney+, and others are offering new value propositions at a lower price point that look more attractive than DStv,” said Ferreira.
He explained that after an expensive acquisition like Canal+’s, companies often make drastic changes to cut costs to recoup the investment.
“Canal+ isn’t going to save DStv by cutting its way to profitability or more subscribers,” said Ferreira.
“It needs innovation and new ideas, dynamic out-of-the-box thinking and application, and an end to the same-old things MultiChoice has done that have damaged DStv.”
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