Business

Bad news for anyone with DStv in South Africa 

Malcolm Libera

 ·12 Nov 2026

DStv subscribers in South Africa have lost 16 television channels since the beginning of 2026, as Canal+ continues to restructure MultiChoice amid declining subscription revenue.

The channel closures form part of a wider cost-cutting drive that began years before French media group Groupe Canal+ acquired MultiChoice in September 2025. 

The cuts began after MultiChoice narrowly avoided removing 12 popular Warner Bros. Discovery channels from its packages through a last-minute agreement.

These included Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, CNN, Discovery, Discovery Family, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Real Time, TLC, TNT Africa and Travel Channel.

However, subscribers still lost four channels on 1 January after Paramount Africa closed its operations at the end of December 2025.

These were BET Africa, MTV Base, CBS Reality and CBS Justice, which followed the collapse of Paramount Africa’s partnership with CBS AMC Networks. The changes also affected the content available to subscribers.

MultiChoice lost access to HBO programming due to changes in its Warner Bros. Discovery partnership, including popular series such as House of the Dragon, which had previously been available on M-Net.

More cuts followed in June, when MultiChoice announced that two channels within its M-Net business, Cinemagic and Magic Showcase, would close on 30 June.

The broadcaster said the changes would help it streamline its offering while responding to customers’ changing viewing preferences.

In September, another four channels were removed: M-Net Movies 1, kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Bioskop and Mzansi Magic. The changes took effect on 17 September as MultiChoice introduced its revamped DStv packages.

The overhaul saw almost all existing packages rebranded, with DStv Compact Plus discontinued for new customers.

Existing subscribers were initially allowed to retain the package at the same price before being upgraded to DStv Premium.

DStv Compact customers were moved to the new DStv Sports package, which retained the R399 monthly price for streaming-only access.

MultiChoice under pressure

The package combines local and international sporting competitions, including the Premier League, PSL, Champions League, cricket, rugby, UFC and WWE.

Subscribers also gained access to Wethu+, a new channel combining programming from Mzansi Wethu, Mzansi Magic, Bioskop Movies and the PSL.

However, in October, MultiChoice announced that five channels in its R280 Indian add-on package would be removed from 31 October.

These were SET Asia, ZEE TV, SET Max, Zee Cinema and WION. The company said it wanted to reduce duplication and concentrate on fewer channels with stronger content offerings.

The latest closure is the international preschool channel JimJam, which will disappear on 11 November, 13 years after launching on DStv.

MultiChoice said it continued to invest in children’s entertainment, citing PlayRoom, Cartoonito, DreamWorks, and CBeebies as examples.

In total, 16 channels will have disappeared from DStv’s South African line-up between January and 11 November 2026.

The changes come as the broadcaster faces mounting pressure to retain subscribers and grow revenue.

In its third-quarter trading update covering the nine months to September 2026, Canal+ reported that MultiChoice’s revenue increased by 0.4% year-on-year to €1.805 billion. However, this was largely due to favourable currency movements.

On a comparable, constant-currency basis, revenue actually declined by 3%, following a 3.4% decline in the first half of the year.

This happened despite new subscriber acquisitions across MultiChoice markets increasing by 40% compared with the first half of 2025.

Canal+ has not disclosed updated South African subscriber numbers or how many customers have cancelled or moved to cheaper packages.

MultiChoice’s last reported annual results showed that its South African subscriber base had fallen by 7.7%, from 7.61 million to 7.02 million.

However, Canal+ reported improved operating profit and margins at MultiChoice, supported partly by €120 million in first-half synergies, including savings from discontinuing Showmax.

Channels cut by DStv