June 2026 marks MultiChoice’s best month for new subscribers in SA in a decade
· Citizen
French media giant Canal+ says DStv-parent company MultiChoice is making progress in its turnaround strategy, reporting June 2026 as its strongest month in South Africa for attracting new subscribers in a decade.
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Following its acquisition of the pay-TV broadcaster, Canal+ implemented a turnaround strategy to revive the business and grow its subscriber base after years of customer losses. But the strategy was more focused on cutting suppliers’ costs, changing content, and setting high targets for employees, among other measures.
However, according to the French media giant’s note to shareholders, the turnaround strategy is working for MultiChoice. The results revealed that the pay-TV broadcaster added new customers, however, it still lost some.
MultiChoice grows subscribers
In a Stock Exchange News Service (Sens) release on Tuesday, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said that in Africa alone, the subscriber base grew by 7% during the six months ended 30 June 2026. This reflects the net total after subtracting customer cancellations.
“In Africa, we have grown our combined subscriber base by 7%, and as part of the MultiChoice turnaround plan we reduced entry costs for new subscribers and expanded our sales network.
“In South Africa, we delivered a standout month in June, with the highest new subscriber uptake in a decade, and we secured long-term rights to the most watched sports competition, the Premier Soccer League.”
MultiChoice shines in SA
According to the unaudited half-year results for 2026, MultiChoice’s customer base was up by 40% in its African markets outside South Africa, compared to the same period in 2025. This is only new sign-ups.
The pay-TV broadcaster operates in Namibia, Zambia, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, among others.
Impressively, the French media giant reported that June 2026 was MultiChoice’s strongest month in South Africa for attracting new subscribers in ten years. A 40% jump in new sign-ups can happen alongside a modest net base growth if customer cancellations remain high.
Content strengthened
Canal+ said it has strengthened its content offering for MultiChoice by securing long-term rights to the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, and Men’s 2027 and Women’s 2029 Rugby World Cups across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Production slate includes first major South African film production The Road Home, Heist of Benin and screen adaptation of bestselling novel Americanah,” said the French media giant.
“Successful content and marketing initiatives, including the World Cup advertising campaign featuring Idris Elba and the launch of the Novelas+ channel in South Africa.”
Canal+ performance
MultiChoice Adjusted EBIT before exceptional items up 160% to €143 m (R2.7 billion), compared to €55 m (R1 billion) in the same period in 2025. Canal+ has attributed this growth to synergies and a P&L impact of €120m (R2.2 billion) (including the Showmax discontinuation impact).
Adjusted EBIT before exceptional items is a financial measure of a company’s core operating profit.
It takes standard Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) and removes the noise of unusual, one-off, or non-recurring events (exceptional items) as well as other specific management adjustments, showing the true ongoing performance of the business.
“Finally, following the acquisition of MultiChoice, our increased scale is starting to deliver the benefits we expected. We have achieved half of our €250m (R4.7 billion) synergies target and remain well on track for the year, and we confirm our full-year and medium-term guidance,” said Saada.