Revenue for the year ending December 31, 2025, dropped by 6% to around $2.8 billion, driven largely by weak performance in MultiChoice’s business across the continent.
Speaking to Channel Africa on Wednesday, TV and film journalist Thinus Ferreira said Canal+ executives used their first full‑year results since acquiring MultiChoice to sharply criticise the SA company’s previous management. “They said Showmax was an expensive failure. It was bleeding, and would have brought down MultiChoice if they didn’t stop it,” he said.
MultiChoice has lost more than 500 000 subscribers, falling to 14.4 million from a peak of 23 million in 2023. Ferreira said Canal+ only gained full visibility of the company’s financials after taking ownership. “They are trying to right‑side a sinking ship,” he added.
Canal+ has launched a $115 million “boost plan” aimed at stabilising the company through cost savings, streamlining operations and eliminating redundancies. Whether it will be enough remains uncertain. “The decline has been so steep it seems almost insurmountable,” Ferreira said. Canal+ plans to reduce decoder prices, simplify package offerings and slash monthly subscription fees in an effort to win back customers.
Showmax’s shutdown has unsettled the local creative industry, which fears losing one of the few platforms commissioning experimental, youth‑driven and distinctly African content. “People forget Showmax was our local streaming service,” Ferreira said. “It backed edgy, home‑grown work. With its closure, those opportunities vanish.”
Canal+ will replace Showmax with its own global app, raising concerns about declining African ownership of platforms and content. Ferreira warned of a growing “McDonaldization of culture”, saying Africa risks losing its creative autonomy to global giants. “Where is our own stuff, our own brands? Why can’t we run our own platforms profitably?”
Ferreira said MultiChoice’s sale to Canal+ was driven purely by shareholder gain, not the preservation of African creative identity. Although the Competition Commission secured assurances that no retrenchments would occur for three years, indirect job losses are expected as content commissioning slows.
He cautioned that inadequate regulatory guardrails may allow a gradual erosion of African storytelling. “MultiChoice was the beacon of African content. Now that the beacon is dimming, and we may not realise the full impact until years from now.”
–ChannelAfricva–
