MultiChoice is betting on an impending tie-up with Canal+ as the best chance of long-term survival and renewed relevance in a global streaming war.
The tie-up, hailed as the largest of its kind in SA’s broadcasting sector, promises scale, cost-savings and deeper financial muscle — critical ammunition in a market architecture shaped by entertainment giants such as Netflix.
After more than a year of boardroom chess, regulatory scrutiny and shareholder wrangling, the Competition Commission in May recommended conditional Competition Tribunal approval of the deal, bringing the pair closer to completing a landmark alliance.
Canal+, which has amassed just more than a 45% stake in MultiChoice since February 2024, initially pitched R105 a share, later sweetened to R125 to scoop up the remaining equity and cement control.
MultiChoice chair Elias Masilela said the deal “represents not only |a recognition of the value that has been created by MultiChoice over 40 years, but also a path to unlocking new possibilities across the continent”.
“Canal+ shares our vision of building Africa’s entertainment platform of choice and their commitment to ‘enriching lives through entertainment’ aligns with our core values,” Masilela said in the group’s annual report. “A combined group will be better positioned to address structural challenges and opportunities resulting from the rapid digitalisation and globalisation of the media and entertainment sector.”
But not everyone is sold.
While CEO Calvo Mawela touts the merger as a “scale or perish” moment, arguing that only size can drive down subscription costs and compete with streaming titans, critics are wary of the cultural calculus and editorial ramifications of a European-owned African broadcaster.
“Every video entertainment player can see where the world is going. Scale matters,” Mawela said.
“The reason the likes of Netflix are so successful is because they are able to amortise their costs over hundreds of millions of subscribers. We need scale that will allow us to amortise our costs across a bigger number of subscribers. We’ll be able to realise efficiencies, bring the cost of subscriptions down and be able to deliver a better-quality content and service.
“If you want to be successful and be able to be competitive, you need scale to compete against the global giants. The coming together of these two companies immediately gets us close to 50-million subscribers.”
At that level, Mawela estimates the combined group will be able to better negotiate content and technology costs, while increasing its ability to invest in local content at a bigger scale.
But for former MultiChoice chair and group CEO Nolo Letele, a veteran who led the group’s pan-African expansion in the 1990s, the deal feels discordant. He has raised concerns about cultural misalignment, hinting that Canal+ may struggle to grasp the nuanced realities of African markets.
Masilela acknowledged that the board is not naive to such opposition and the uncertainty that the deal represents for many in its ecosystem.
“We are aware this transition may bring uncertainty for stakeholders, but we are convinced that together we can build a global entertainment leader with Africa at its heart,” he said.
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