After almost four decades as a proudly South African-owned media giant, MultiChoice has changed hands. The pay-TV company has been acquired by French broadcaster Groupe Canal+, bringing an end to its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and marking a historic shift in its ownership.
The takeover comes at a delicate moment for MultiChoice, which is also confronting the possible loss of HBO — one of its longest and most influential content partners — amid uncertainty surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery.
MultiChoice’s story began long before its formal launch, with its foundations rooted in M-Net, which went on air in October 1986. The idea was conceived by Koos Bekker while studying for an MBA at Columbia Business School in New York in the early 1980s. Inspired by the success of HBO in the United States, Bekker developed the M-Net concept with friends Cobus Stofberg and Jac van der Merwe and later secured backing from Naspers, which took a 26% stake.
At the time, Naspers’ traditional print advertising business was under pressure from the rapid growth of free-to-air television. M-Net’s premium content and live sports quickly attracted subscribers, and the business turned profitable within two years. From just 500 decoder households at launch, M-Net grew to 100,000 homes by 1988 and expanded into original content and specialised channels, including SuperSport.
The success of M-Net laid the groundwork for the creation of MultiChoice, which emerged as a separate operational arm overseeing signal distribution and subscriber management. In 1995, MultiChoice launched DStv, ushering in digital satellite television in South Africa. Though adoption was initially slow, DStv gained traction rapidly and became a fixture in middle- and upper-income households.
By the late 1990s, DStv had expanded across sub-Saharan Africa, while MultiChoice’s growth propelled Bekker to the role of Naspers CEO in 1997. Subscriber numbers continued to climb steadily, reaching 1.5 million in South Africa by 2006 and more than doubling between 2011 and 2019. That same year, Naspers spun MultiChoice off into a separately listed company.
Today, MultiChoice serves about 14.5 million DStv subscribers across Africa, split almost evenly between South Africa and the rest of the continent. SuperSport remains a cornerstone of its offering and a major force in global sports broadcasting.
However, the company has struggled in recent years as streaming platforms disrupted the traditional pay-TV model, leading to declining subscribers, revenue, and profits.
Against this backdrop, Canal+ began quietly building a stake in MultiChoice in 2020. By 2023, it had crossed the 30% threshold, and further acquisitions triggered a mandatory buyout offer under South African law. Regulatory approval was granted in July 2025, clearing the way for Canal+ to assume control by September.
While Canal+ has pledged to strengthen MultiChoice’s content lineup, a major threat looms. Negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery — owner of HBO and several key DStv channels — have stalled ahead of a critical contract expiry at the end of December. Up to twelve channels, including CNN, Discovery, Cartoon Network, and TNT Africa, could be affected.
The potential loss of HBO content would be especially damaging, given its role in shaping M-Net’s original vision and its catalogue of globally acclaimed series such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire, and The Last of Us.
MultiChoice says discussions with Warner Bros. Discovery are ongoing and insists no final decisions have been made. The company has pledged to keep subscribers informed of any developments.
As Canal+ takes the reins, MultiChoice faces a defining chapter — balancing its legacy as Africa’s dominant pay-TV operator with the realities of global competition, shifting viewer habits, and high-stakes content negotiations. /First reported by MyBroadband