DStv comeback plan with price cuts and 1,000 new salespeople
Canal+ plans to spend up to €100 million (R1.9 billion) on a boost plan in 2026 to accelerate a MultiChoice turnaround and support the DStv owner’s return to sustainable growth.
At the release of its annual financial results on Wednesday, the French media giant reported continued revenue and subscriber declines at MultiChoice.
For the year ended 31 December 2025, MultiChoice revenue dropped by €142 million (R2.69 billion), driven by a loss of 500,000 subscribers.
The latest results follow a cumulative loss of R7 billion in the broadcaster’s two previous financial years, which ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025.
Canal+’s plan to return MultiChoice to profitability is structured around four strategic pillars designed to reignite subscriber growth and strengthen the business.
Firstly, Canal+ will focus on having the most compelling content proposition in Africa, leveraging joint products, in-house channels, and global partnerships.
The company said that producing thousands of hours of local African content and retaining key sports rights would remain a “cornerstone” of the business.
Secondly, Canal+ plans to simplify and strengthen MultiChoice’s commercial propositions with clearer pricing, streamlined branding, and more effective marketing.
Thirdly, it plans to increase subscriber growth by lowering entry costs through subsidies on user equipment, expanding its distribution network, and hiring over 1,000 on-the-ground salespeople.
However, the plan is likely to include retrenchments. The last pillar of the strategy — Operational Excellence at Scale — includes initiating a voluntary severance plan at MultiChoice’s support functions.
In addition, the company is launching a restructuring programme at Irdeto, its wholly-owned technology and cybersecurity company. “Restructuring” is often used as a euphemism for retrenchments.
Canal+ said these interventions aimed to improve MultiChoice’s operational efficiency with best practices and a standardised operating model across markets.
The company asserted the measures were consistent with the commitments it made to the Competition Tribunal during the acquisition of MultiChoice.
That means South African employees across the MultiChoice Group should be safe from retrenchments for a few years.
It also said the restructuring aligned with Canal+’s ambition to streamline certain functions while investing in activities that directly support MultiChoice’s growth and business development.
Shutting down Showmax and freezing supplier payments
Other cost-cutting measures detailed in the results include rationalising MultiChoice’s real estate portfolio and ending its standalone video streaming service Showmax.
Showmax’s relaunch in early 2024 has cost MultiChoice billions of rand in development and licensing fees.
That investment failed to deliver anywhere near the subscriber or revenue growth the company wanted to achieve.
Following a comprehensive review of MultiChoice’s streaming activities, Canal+ officially announced that Showmax would be shut down in early March 2026.
MultiChoice has already undertaken several cost-cutting exercises since the Canal+ acquisition in September 2025.
In October 2025, it suspended payments to the broadcaster’s suppliers and demanded 20% discounts on invoices within weeks of acquiring MultiChoice.
The company insisted that this was part of efforts over the two previous years to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
“Managing spend in the business is important to ensure that MultiChoice continues to play a key role in the South African and African broadcasting ecosystem over the long term,” MultiChoice said.
The broadcaster maintained that the adjustments would enable it to support numerous industries and fulfil its extensive public interest commitments made to the Competition Tribunal.
To get the MultiChoice acquisition over the line, Canal+ agreed to procure local content from historically disadvantaged persons and small businesses.
Another indicator of cost-cutting measures includes SuperSport not acquiring the rights to broadcast the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The broadcaster has secured the rights to all previous Winter Olympics dating back to at least the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
MultiChoice also failed to sign an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery for HBO content on M-Net, M-Net Movies, and Showmax.
Instead, Canal+ has negotiated a new channel carriage and content deal across the entire group, which it announced in December. That deal reportedly excluded HBO.
That has resulted in some of the world’s most sought-after movies and TV series being pulled from the platforms.
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