DStv’s South African revenue keeps sliding

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MultiChoice’s revenue fell 3% on a like-for-like basis in the nine months to September, driven by lower subscription revenue in South Africa, its French owner Canal+ said on Thursday.

The decline eased in the third quarter to 2% year on year, from 3.4% in the first half, which Canal+ attributed partly to “favourable comparison effects related to the sporting events line-up”. Higher revenue in most of MultiChoice’s other English-speaking markets partly offset the fall in South Africa.

On a reported basis, MultiChoice’s revenue rose 0.4% to €1.81-billion, “notably benefitting from a material positive currency effect”, Canal+ said in its trading update.

The 17 September relaunch replaced Access, Family and Compact with Starter, Select and Sports, and added a Movies & Series package below Premium. It came two weeks before the end of the quarter, so the numbers say little about whether it is working.

Saada said Canal+ was “making good progress with the MultiChoice turnaround plan”. He also pointed to sport: its exclusive rights to all Uefa men’s club competitions in more than 40 African countries from 2027 to 2031, and rights across Africa to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifiers.

Canal+ group revenue rose 37.5% to €6.41-billion, reflecting the consolidation of MultiChoice, but was flat on a like-for-like basis, down 0.3%. Excluding MultiChoice, revenue rose 1.3%, helped by “strong momentum” in French-speaking Africa.

The group said it remained on track to deliver €250-million in synergies this year and its full-year guidance of flat revenue and adjusted Ebit, or earnings before interest and tax, of €735-million.

A footnote shows how small Showmax was. The streaming service, which was shut down at the end of April, brought in revenue of €33-million in the first nine months of 2025 and €10-million in the third quarter of that year. MultiChoice reported a trading loss of R4.9-billion for Showmax in the year to March 2025. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media

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