By The Weekly Vision Business Desk
MultiChoice Group, the parent company of DStv and GOtv, has officially become a wholly owned subsidiary of French media giant Canal+, bringing to an end a takeover process that began in 2023. The transaction, completed on 10 July 2026, places the South African broadcaster within the Paris-headquartered media group, which operates in about 70 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia.
David Mignot, Chief Executive Officer of Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice, said the integration marks a significant milestone, positioning MultiChoice as part of “a truly international media group”. The acquisition was finalised through a mandatory buyout offer of R125 per share, valuing MultiChoice at approximately R55 billion (US$3 billion). Canal+ had gradually increased its shareholding since 2024, when it crossed South Africa’s regulatory ownership threshold and launched a formal offer to acquire the remaining shares.
To comply with South African laws restricting foreign ownership of broadcasting licences, MultiChoice’s local broadcasting licence has been transferred into a separate entity known as LicenceCo. Canal+ has also committed to a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, expected in September 2026, following MultiChoice’s delisting. Its primary listing will remain in London.
The takeover received approval from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, subject to several public interest commitments. These include continued investment in locally produced content and support for historically disadvantaged individuals and small businesses operating in the country’s audiovisual sector. The commitments are estimated to be worth nearly R26 billion over the next three years.
From a business perspective, the acquisition gives Canal+ immediate access to MultiChoice’s extensive distribution network across more than 50 African markets. Together, the two companies now serve over 40 million subscribers and generate annual revenues of approximately €8.7 billion, making the combined business one of the world’s largest pay-television operators outside the United States.
For Canal+, Africa is one of its most important growth markets as traditional pay-TV markets in Europe become increasingly saturated and competition from global streaming platforms intensifies. However, while the takeover represents a major corporate milestone, the picture in Kenya tells a different story.
According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, DStv’s active subscriber base fell from approximately 1.19 million in mid-2024 to just 248,053 by the end of the first quarter of 2026. During the same period, GOtv’s subscriber numbers dropped from about 2.82 million to 405,013.
Together, the two platforms lost 57,812 subscribers during the first three months of 2026 alone, representing the largest quarterly decline among pay-TV operators in Kenya. The overall pay-TV market also shrank by 5.1 per cent during the quarter. Industry analysts attribute much of the decline to growing price sensitivity among consumers rather than reduced demand for television services.
Over the past three years, MultiChoice has increased DStv and GOtv subscription fees five times. The flagship DStv Premium package now costs KSh11,700 per month, up from around KSh7,500 in 2022. Meanwhile, lower-priced competitors such as StarTimes and Azam TV recorded modest subscriber growth over the same period. This suggests that many Kenyan households are not abandoning television altogether but are switching to more affordable alternatives, including streaming platforms and, increasingly, illegal piracy services that offer premium sports content at a fraction of the cost.
In response, Canal+ and MultiChoice have embarked on a series of restructuring measures. Showmax, the group’s standalone streaming platform, was discontinued on 30 April 2026 after years of losses, with its content integrated into DStv Stream.
The company has also announced plans to subsidise decoder equipment, expand its sales network and develop a “super app” that will combine Canal+, DStv, GOtv and former Showmax content alongside third-party streaming services such as Netflix and Apple TV+.
In Kenya, MultiChoice also reduced decoder and installation charges in late 2025 to attract new customers, according to the company’s local Managing Director, Nzola Miranda. Whether the ongoing FIFA World Cup, being hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, will help reverse the subscriber decline remains uncertain. While football tournaments traditionally drive new subscriptions, Kenya’s late-night and early-morning kick-off times may limit the expected boost.
What is certain is that Canal+ has inherited not only MultiChoice’s extensive African footprint but also the significant commercial challenges facing its Kenyan business. The success of the acquisition will ultimately depend not only on expanding across the continent but also on reversing subscriber losses in key markets where affordability and changing viewing habits continue to reshape the pay-TV industry.
