All the companies MultiChoice owns

MultiChoice is best known for DStv, which has dominated South Africa’s pay-TV market for decades. However, it also owns many other globally renowned companies.

MultiChoice is one of South Africa’s oldest and most successful technology and entertainment companies, with operations worldwide.

It has its roots in M-Net, founded by Naspers in partnership with South African media businesses.

At launch, M-Net offered 12 hours of daily programming and had the live broadcasting rights to the Currie Cup rugby tournament.

In 1989, M-Net introduced three new channels targeting specific markets, including a dedicated sports channel, SuperSport, and a kids channel, K-TV.

The company was listed on the JSE at R1.00 per share in 1990. In 1992, it launched analogue channels in 20 African countries.

Former MultiChoice and Naspers CEO Koos Bekker was the mastermind and the driving force behind the company.

He divided M-Net into separate divisions. One focused on transmitting entertainment channels, and the other on cellular operations, signal distribution, and subscriber management.

The latter would become MultiChoice, under which Naspers launched Digital Satellite Television (DStv) in South Africa in October 1995.

DStv initially offered 16 channels, including M-Net, SuperSport, K-TV, Cartoon Network, CNN, SkyNews, ESPN, Hallmark, VH1, and TNT. It also boasted a 40-channel DMX audio service.

By February 1998, DStv had amassed 70,000 subscribers across the continent. Just four months later, that number had jumped to 215,000 in sub-Saharan Africa.

In South Africa, DStv became a must-have for households that could afford it. By 2006, MultiChoice South Africa had 1.5 million subscribers.

Today, MultiChoice has 14.5 million DStv subscribers – 7.0 million in South Africa and 7.5 million in the rest of Africa.

One of its main assets is SuperSport, a global leader in sports broadcasting, offering DStv subscribers access to all prominent local and international sporting events.

However, there is much more to MultiChoice than video entertainment through DStv. It has numerous subsidiaries offering a range of technology and financial services.

• MultiChoice South Africa – A leading video entertainment provider in South Africa. Its main products are DStv and DStv Stream.

• MultiChoice Africa – A leading video entertainment provider in Africa. Its main products are DStv, DStv Stream, GOtv, and GOtv Stream.

• Showmax – A streaming platform offering a standalone subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in 44 markets across Africa

• Irdeto – The world leader in digital platform cybersecurity, empowering businesses to innovate for a secure, connected future.

• KingMakers – A leading interactive entertainment platform focused on sub-Saharan Africa. It offers sports betting, virtual gaming and casino games.

• NMS Insurance Services (NMSIS) – A microinsurer, licensed to underwrite both non-life and life insurance products. It primarily focuses on DStv-related insurance. MultiChoice recently sold 60% of NMSIS to Sanlam Life Insurance.

• Moment – A fintech company established as a joint venture between MultiChoice, Rapyd and venture capital investors. It is a pan-African payments network that connects African businesses to each other and the world.

Over the last financial year, MultiChoice generated R51 billion in revenue, with a trading profit of R4 billion.

All the companies MultiChoice owns

The diagram below shows all the companies MultiChoice owns, along with its shareholding in each of the companies.