A year after Canal+ took over MultiChoice, the owner of DStv is still shrinking in its home market. Canal+ said on 22 October in its third-quarter trading update that MultiChoice revenue fell 3 percent like for like in the first nine months of 2026, mostly because of lower subscription revenue in South Africa. The same figures were reported by ITWeb and Advanced Television.
The headline looks better than the trend. MultiChoice revenue rose 0.4 percent to 1.81 billion euros on a reported basis, but Canal+ credited a "material positive currency effect" for that, so the like for like fall is the figure that shows underlying demand.
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The key fact: DStv's like for like revenue is down 3 percent over nine months, the decline is easing, and Canal+ has not published a subscriber count to show whether the new packages are working.
What Canal+ reported
Group revenue for the nine months was 6.412 billion euros, up 37.5 percent, almost entirely because MultiChoice is now consolidated. On a like for like basis, group revenue fell 0.3 percent, according to ITWeb's summary of the trading update. Africa and Asia revenue excluding MultiChoice rose 10.2 percent, according to ITWeb. With MultiChoice included, the release puts Africa and Asia like for like revenue up 0.7 percent for the nine months.
Three details matter for readers following DStv:
- The fall is slowing. MultiChoice's like for like decline was 2 percent in the third quarter, down from 3.4 percent in the first half. Canal+ partly attributed that to easier comparisons with last year's sports calendar.
- Other markets held up. Revenue rose in most other English-speaking African markets, partly offsetting South Africa. The update does not break out Nigeria.
- No subscriber numbers. Canal+ gave no subscriber count for MultiChoice, and said its Africa and Asia subscriber base "normalised" in the third quarter after a boost from the FIFA World Cup in the first half.
The turnaround plan
CEO Maxime Saada said in the update that a simplified offer launched in South Africa in September gives subscribers "more content, greater choice, and better value for the same price," as quoted by Advanced Television. The rollout continues across English and Portuguese speaking markets over the coming months. Canal+ also won UEFA men's club competition rights in more than 40 African countries for 2027 to 2031, plus the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifiers, according to the release.
Techpoint Africa's digest adds package prices: DStv's South African packages now run from Starter at R99 a month to Premium at R799. Canal+'s release says Showmax was discontinued at the end of April 2026.
What this means
DStv is a large pay-TV business under pressure, and its South African numbers show how hard it is to hold subscription revenue when viewers have other ways to watch. Canal+'s answer so far is simpler tiers at unchanged prices. The early result is a slower decline, not growth.
For Nigerian and African viewers, the practical impact is on price and choice. Canal+ describes the UEFA deal as its first major sports rights acquisition covering all of its African markets, which shows where it is putting money, but it has not said how that affects prices. Whether DStv's simplified tiers reach Nigerian subscribers, and at what price, has not been announced. In our view, a weaker DStv is an opening for local streaming and telecom players such as MTN One TV, though sports rights remain the barrier.
What to watch at Canal+ in 2027
- How many subscribers MultiChoice has lost or gained in 2026. Canal+ did not say.
- How much of the third quarter improvement is the new packages and how much is the easier sports comparison.
- Nigeria specific revenue or subscriber trends, which Canal+ does not break out.
The short version: DStv is still losing revenue in South Africa, more slowly than before, and until Canal+ shares subscriber numbers nobody outside can tell whether the turnaround is working.
