By Njoku Chijioke
French media conglomerate Canal+ has successfully completed its landmark $3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice Group, the parent company of popular pay-TV services DStv and GOtv. The deal, which grants Canal+ full ownership of MultiChoice’s extensive media portfolio, received final approval from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
The acquisition means Canal+ now fully owns Africa’s largest pay-TV operator, which boasts over 14.5 million subscribers across 50 sub-Saharan African countries. This expansive portfolio includes prominent platforms such as DStv, GOtv, SuperSport, Africa Magic, M-Net, and Showmax.
Canal+ has pledged a significant investment of approximately R26 billion (around $1.4 billion) over the next three years. This substantial commitment is earmarked for local content production, sports broadcasting rights, and digital innovation, reflecting a strategic focus on enhancing the African media landscape.
This acquisition strategically positions Canal+ to become a dominant force in Africa’s rapidly evolving media market, setting it up to compete directly with global streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. With the combined subscriber base of Canal+’s existing 8 million and MultiChoice’s 14.5 million, the merged entity aims for an ambitious target of 50 to 100 million subscribers across the continent in the coming years.
The completion of this deal marks a significant consolidation in the African broadcast media industry, promising increased investment in digital infrastructure and potentially wider distribution of African content to international markets.
