After nearly four decades as a proudly South African media powerhouse, MultiChoice has formally exited local ownership following its acquisition by French media giant Groupe Canal+. The deal has also seen the company delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), marking a historic turning point for Africa’s largest pay-TV operator.
The takeover comes at a turbulent time for MultiChoice, which is also facing the possible loss of HBO — one of its longest-standing content partners and a key inspiration behind its original M-Net channel.
MultiChoice traces its origins to M-Net, which launched in October 1986 after an idea conceived by Koos Bekker during his MBA studies at Columbia Business School in New York. Inspired by the success of HBO in the United States, Bekker, alongside Cobus Stofberg and Jac van der Merwe, pitched the concept to Naspers CEO Ton Vosloo in 1984. Naspers took a minority stake and funded the venture at a time when its print advertising revenues were under pressure from free-to-air television.
M-Net grew rapidly on the strength of premium entertainment and live sports, becoming profitable within two years. From just 500 decoder-equipped homes at launch, subscriptions surged to 100,000 by 1988. The business later expanded into niche offerings, including SuperSport and children’s programming, and was listed on the JSE in 1990.
In the mid-1990s, M-Net was restructured, leading to the creation of MultiChoice and the launch of DStv in 1995. Although DStv’s early adoption was slow, it soon gained traction across South Africa and the continent, cementing its place as a household staple. By 2006, MultiChoice South Africa had 1.5 million subscribers, rising to over 7 million by 2019, when the company was spun off from Naspers into a separate JSE listing.
Today, MultiChoice serves about 14.5 million DStv subscribers across Africa, supported by SuperSport’s extensive local and international sports coverage. However, the business has been under growing pressure as global streaming platforms disrupt the traditional pay-TV model, leading to declining subscribers, revenue and profits.
Against this backdrop, Canal+ quietly built its stake in MultiChoice, first disclosing a 6.5% holding in 2020. By 2023, its shareholding had crossed 30%, and further acquisitions triggered a mandatory buyout under South African law. Regulatory approval was granted in July 2025, clearing the way for Canal+ to assume full control.
While Canal+ has pledged to strengthen DStv’s content offering, MultiChoice faces an immediate threat from uncertainty surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO and several key DStv channels. Ongoing carriage and content negotiations, set against the backdrop of possible mergers involving Warner Bros. Discovery, have raised the risk of losing up to twelve channels, including CNN, Discovery, Cartoon Network and TLC.
HBO’s potential exit would be particularly damaging, given its legacy titles such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire and The Last of Us, which have long been cornerstones of DStv and Showmax.
MultiChoice says discussions with Warner Bros. Discovery are continuing and that no final decisions have been made, assuring customers that any outcome will be communicated transparently. Still, as foreign ownership takes hold and key partnerships hang in the balance, the company stands at one of the most uncertain points in its history.