MultiChoice revenue fell by 3% in the nine months to September 2026, according to a trading update from its owner CANAL+. The French media group said lower subscription income in South Africa caused the drop.
The update was released on Thursday. The 3% fall is on a like-for-like basis, which removes the effect of currency changes and changes to the size of the business.
On a reported basis, MultiChoice revenue rose by 0.4% to €1.81 billion. CANAL+ said a strong positive currency effect helped this figure.
“We delivered a solid performance in the first nine months of the year as we continued to execute our strategy. Revenue was in line with our expectations, supported by strong momentum in French-speaking Africa and at STUDIOCANAL,” Saada said in the update.
CANAL+ said the weaker South African income was partly offset by higher revenue in most other English-speaking African markets.
The decline eased to 2% in the third quarter, down from 3.4% in the first half of the year. CANAL+ said part of this came from easier comparisons with the sports events shown in the previous year. It did not credit the change only to its turnaround plan.
The group is relying on new DStv packages and stronger content to bring growth back. MultiChoice launched the new packages on 7 September, close to the end of the reporting period.
This left little time for the packages to show up in the results. CANAL+ said the rollout would continue in English and Portuguese-speaking African markets over the coming months.
MultiChoice also shut down Showmax, its streaming service, in April. CANAL+ now treats Showmax as a closed business in its financial reports.
Across the whole group, CANAL+ reported revenue of €6.41 billion for the nine months. That was 37.5% higher than the same period last year, mainly because MultiChoice was added to the group after the takeover.
On a like-for-like basis, group revenue fell by 0.3%. Without MultiChoice, revenue grew by 0.8%, helped by French-speaking Africa and the group’s content production business.
The company’s Africa and Asia operations, not counting MultiChoice, grew revenue by 10.2% on a like-for-like basis. Including MultiChoice, revenue in that region rose by 3.1% on a restated basis.
CANAL+ is also adding more sport to protect its place in the African market. It won exclusive rights to all UEFA men’s club football competitions in more than 40 countries from 2027 to 2031.
The group also secured rights across Africa for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifying games.
CANAL+ said it was still on track to meet its 2026 targets. These include €735 million in adjusted earnings before interest and tax, and €250 million in planned cost savings measured the same way.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCabal. Image: TechCabal. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.