{"id":839064,"date":"2025-10-05T07:32:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=839064"},"modified":"2025-10-05T07:51:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:51:31","slug":"big-changes-for-dstv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/media\/839064\/big-changes-for-dstv\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes for DStv"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While DStv subscribers are generally unaffected by the Canal+ buyout of Multichoice, they should get ready for a content shakeup in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Sunday Times<\/a>, now part of a global multinational media giant, South African content once exclusive to DStv will be heading to other markets for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same vein, international content should be making its way onto DStv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEO of Canal+ Africa, David Mignot, said the group aims to export DStv content worldwide through its integration into Studio Canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mignot is one of two Canal+ executives heading up Canal+ Africa, which took over Multichoice in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio Canal is the wider group’s production arm, which houses 19 production companies, over 9,400 titles, and operates in multiple major markets, mostly in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Multichoice now being absorbed into the group, local productions that have been created exclusively for DStv platforms are now part of the mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mignot noted that high-quality productions coming out of Multichoice are likely to have wide appeal and can make waves in other markets and on other Canal+ platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the takeover, the Canal+ Group committed to continued investment in local productions, which will now be part of the blended library for use wherever Canal+ operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the reverse is also on the cards, with DStv expected to gain access to the extensive library of the wider Canal+ group, though the specifics of this remain to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mignot previously stated that DStv customers should expect to see content “from American companies, from companies all over the world, as well as the local sports and general entertainment content.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canal+ has positioned itself as a ‘super aggregator’, which aggregates multiple services like Netflix, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and HBO Max into its own platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MultiChoice\u2019s key brands like DStv, Showmax, and SuperSport are now part of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the executive has stressed that these brands will remain as they are for now, saying they were \u201cvery sensitive and careful about brands\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of an era for Multichoice<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
David Mignot<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Any changes to DStv content will only come after a thorough review of all aspects of the Multichoice business, where Canal+ will decide on a strategy to integrate the two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canal+ will provide a strategic update about its detailed plans during the first quarter of 2026<\/strong>, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition of Multichoice (MCG) by Canal+ marks the largest transaction ever undertaken by Canal+, cementing the combined group\u2019s position as a global media and entertainment company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combined group will serve more than 40 million subscribers across close to 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, supported by a workforce of approximately 17,000 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For South Africa, Canal+ and the company have committed to a robust package of public interest measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include supporting firms controlled by Historically Disadvantaged Persons (HDPs) and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in the South African audio-visual sector, as well as maintaining funding for local general entertainment and sports content produced by South African creators.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key change for the group is the establishment of Multichoice Proprietary Limited (or LicenceCo) to hold the broadcasting licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memorandum of incorporation of MCG contained voting scale-back provisions which restricted foreign shareholders\u2019 ability to exercise voting rights attached to MCG shares held by them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was to comply with the provisions of section 64 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2005, which deal with broadcasting licences and limit foreign control to 20% voting rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While DStv subscribers are generally unaffected by the Canal+ buyout of Multichoice, they should get ready for a content shakeup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":833504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5554],"tags":[6633,78,1253],"class_list":["post-839064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-canal","tag-dstv","tag-multichoice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839064"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":839071,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839064\/revisions\/839071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}