New era for DStv

MultiChoice and DStv’s new owner, Canal+, said it will list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on 3 June 2026.

The company added that turning around MultiChoice and capturing African growth opportunities are progressing well.

On 28 April 2026, Canal+, a global media and entertainment company, published a trading update for the three months that ended 31 March 2026.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said that they have made a solid start to 2026 as they begin the operational execution phase of their strategy.

This strategy includes turning MultiChoice around and stemming the decline of DStv subscribers over the last few years.

“The integration of MultiChoice Group is progressing well, with the top management team appointed and in place,” he said.

“The first initiatives of the MultiChoice turnaround plan have been launched, including strengthening the commercial engine and recruiting new sales teams.”

Canal+ added that the boost plan has been launched, and commercial operations are being strengthened at MultiChoice.

In South Africa, MultiChoice has suspended its historic commercial policy of annual price increases and increased the subsidies offered to new customers.

As part of Canal+’s cost management strategy, it is implementing a voluntary severance plan at MultiChoice.

It will also retire the Showmax streaming platform on 30 April 2026, as the service was burning cash without a prospect of becoming profitable soon.

Showmax content is now available on MultiChoice’s DStv platform, and the migration of Showmax subscribers is being supported by dedicated commercial offers.

“The Irdeto restructuring is on track and entering the formal consultation phase required ahead of implementation,” Canal+ said.

Canal+ will list on the JSE on 3 June 2026

As part of its trading update, Canal+ revealed that it will list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on 3 June 2026.

“The secondary inward listing on the JSE will provide South African investors with the opportunity to invest in a global media and entertainment company,” it said.

The company added that the JSE listing will enhance the long-term liquidity and tradability of CANAL+ shares.

The listing will also fulfil the commitment made to the South African Competition Authorities to pursue a secondary inward listing on the JSE.

The commitment followed Canal+’s acquisition of all of MultiChoice Group’s share capital in late 2025 and delisting it from the JSE.

The South African authorities wanted to ensure that MultiChoice, the crown jewel of South African media, remained accessible to local investors.

Saada has previously described the upcoming JSE listing as a significant moment for the company.

He said listing on the JSE signals Canal+’s long-term commitment to South Africa as a core hub in its global strategy.

Saada said Africa is the continent with the strongest growth potential for pay-TV, and the JSE listing is intended to deepen the company’s roots in this market.

MultiChoice turnaround strategy

After the acquisition, Canal+ developed a comprehensive turnaround and integration plan for MultiChoice to restore profitable growth.

This turnaround plan includes leveraging the combined scale of Canal+ and MultiChoice across Africa.

The core of the new MultiChoice strategy is a turnaround plan aimed at reigniting subscriber growth through numerous initiatives.

• Best content in Africa: Combining the content catalogues and local productions will enhance DStv’s product offering.

• Simplified commercial offers: Streamlining pricing, branding, and marketing to enhance customer value and make offers more appealing.

• Powerful acquisition engine: Accelerating subscriber growth by lowering entry costs through equipment subsidies and recruiting over 1,000 new salespeople.

• Operational excellence: Standardising operating models across countries, implementing best practices, and reinforcing anti-piracy capabilities.

The impact of these turnaround initiatives is already felt, with Canal+ investing R1.9 billion to accelerate the rollout.

This investment is aimed at restarting subscriber growth to counter a recent decline in subscriber numbers.

The company has paused DStv price increases to drive affordability and cut decoder prices to lower the barrier to accessing the service.

It is also actively working to enhance the product offering for DStv subscribers to increase the service’s appeal.