DStv gets new content
MultiChoice has announced that it is among over 40 countries across Europe and Africa airing the Canal+ licensed King & Conqueror series.
“M-Net is proud to be part of this massive global content rollout, which is a first for us with Canal+,” said Waldimar Pelser, director of premium channels at MultiChoice.
“King & Conqueror is an epic tale told with power and ambition, and we’re confident it will resonate deeply with audiences in South Africa and across the continent.”
The series tells the story of the clash between Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy as they vie for the English crown after King Edward died in 1066 without an heir, culminating in the Battle of Hastings.
King & Conqueror stars James Norton from Happy Valley and Playing Nice, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones.
The cast also includes Emily Beecham, Clémence Poésy, Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, and Jean-Marc Barr. The first episode aired on Thursday, 12 February 2026, at 21:00 on M-Net (DStv channel 102).
Groupe Canal+ took control of MultiChoice in September 2025, with the transaction’s final phase commencing on 13 October of the same year.
MultiChoice is now part of Canal+ Africa, whose CEO, David Mignot, previously said DStv customers could expect Canal+ and MultiChoice to combine their content libraries, meaning DStv customers would get new content.
“MultiChoice content is incredible. We will have the ability to use the strengths of the two groups,” he said.
“So customers can expect all that is available at Canal+. We have the biggest library of European content, including a lot of American content … like 9,000 movies.”
Mignot said Canal+ creates around 4,000 hours of African content in up to 15 languages annually, which he said DStv customers will get access to, in addition to MultiChoice’s 6,000 hours of local content produced annually.
“Combined, we will roughly provide 10,000 hours per year in 20 to 35 languages,” Mignot said.
“So, in a 10- to 15-year period, we are building up a catalogue of more than 100,000 to 150,000 hours, and then we will be able to make that content travel.”
Canal+’s plan to make DStv more money
Canal+ recently revealed cost-cutting targets and said it aims to report earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation (EBITA) run-rate cost synergies of €400 million (R7.5 billion) by 2030.
By then, it also hopes to realise free cash flow synergies (FCF) of €300 million (R5.6 billion). Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said he is confident that the company will meet these targets.
The media giant is targeting EBITA and FCF cost synergies of over €150 million in 2026. By 2028, it expects these to increase to €300 million EBITA and €250 million FCF.
“Our increased scale will enable us to generate substantial synergies, particularly across our cost base,” Saada said.
“We are well-positioned to benefit from growth in Africa and capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead.”
Despite Canal+’s increased economies of scale following its acquisition of MultiChoice, Saada said he was most excited about the growth opportunities.
He explained that acquiring MultiChoice’s 14 million-odd subscribers had increased Canal+’s subscriber base to 40 million across Europe and Africa.
Canal+ noted that MultiChoice Group subscribers reached a peak of around 23.5 million in the 2023 financial year before declining rapidly.
However, it said it is best placed to help MultiChoice return to its pre-2023 growth trajectory.
“Building on its robust position across the continent, the combined Group has started to roll out a comprehensive action plan focused on returning MCG countries to growth,” Canal+ said.
The company said actions taken since it gained control of MultiChoice had already secured FCF synergies of over €80 million for 2026.
This includes fresh content partnerships, renegotiation of hardware prices, optimisation of infrastructure, and refinancing the MultiChoice Group’s long-term debt.
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