Groupe Canal+, the French media giant that recently acquired MultiChoice Group and its DStv service, is under increased scrutiny from the Competition Commission as it seeks areas to reduce costs.
According to Competition Commission spokesperson Siya Makunga, the watchdog is actively monitoring Canal+’s adherence to the commitments made during the 2025 acquisition of MultiChoice. Among these agreements was a moratorium on layoffs in South Africa, along with pledges to produce local content and support small black-owned businesses as suppliers.
Concerns have arisen among industry stakeholders and lawmakers regarding possible violations, particularly as Canal+ recently froze payments to suppliers while requesting a blanket 20% discount on invoices and closed the Showmax service. Reports suggest that Canal+ Africa has also proposed voluntary severance packages to employees at MultiChoice and its cybersecurity unit, Irdeto. However, Makunga clarified that these offers do not breach the layoff moratorium established during the merger.
The acquisition, completed in an all-cash deal in 2025 that valued MultiChoice at US$3.2 billion, followed Canal+ acquiring over 35% of MultiChoice’s shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, necessitating a mandatory buyout. Despite this impressive valuation, MultiChoice faced significant challenges at the time, struggling with subscriber losses and declining revenues.
In an effort to restore the company’s fortunes, Canal+ announced it would invest up to US$110 million to help DStv return to sustainable growth, focusing on four strategic pillars: enhancing content offerings, streamlining products and marketing, subsidizing decoder prices, and executing a restructuring plan.
The Competition Commission’s close monitoring also coincides with Canal+’s decision to wind down Showmax. Canal+ labelled MultiChoice’s streaming service an “expensive failure” and announced it would terminate its Showmax contract in early 2026. Notably, Showmax has reported nearly R8.8 billion in cumulative operating losses since 2023, with its trading loss increasing from US$151 million to US$286 million, an 87.7% drop in performance.
Showmax recently informed its subscribers that it will halt new sign-ups starting March 31 and will fully shut down by April 30, 2026. Content from Showmax will be migrated to a dedicated section within the DStv Stream app, with many Showmax Originals already available on the platform.
The announcement has raised alarms in the local film industry, prompting an appeal to the Competition Commission regarding the impact of Showmax’s closure on local productions.
In an effort to retain and attract DStv subscribers, Canal+ has committed not to raise subscription fees in 2026. Canal+ Africa’s David Mignot initially shared this information, and MultiChoice SA LicenceCo CEO Willington Ngwepe later confirmed it.
LicenceCo was established as part of the Canal+ acquisition to comply with regulations limiting foreign ownership of broadcasters to 20%. Ngwepe added that while LicenceCo sets local prices, they are based on costs from MultiChoice South Africa, the Canal+ entity providing the services.
This decision comes alongside DStv’s introduction of a bill-splitting feature in January 2026, allowing subscribers to share their monthly bills with another individual. Currently, the feature supports splitting bills between two people, with plans to expand this capability to include multiple households.
DStv is also promoting sales on decoders and installations, offering an HD Single View decoder with installation for US$46.67 and the Explora for US$87.56.
