Paris, September 22, 2025 (Cemac-eco.finance) — After nearly two years of negotiations, Canal+ has finalized its acquisition of MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV and streaming operator. The €2.5 billion deal creates a combined group with around 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries, cementing Canal+ as the continent’s pay-TV leader and reshaping the competitive landscape for national broadcasters, global streamers, and telecom operators alike.

A Historic and Structural Operation

Canal+, long dominant in Francophone Africa, now secures a strong foothold in Anglophone and Lusophone markets through MultiChoice. The merged group combines satellite, DTT, OTT streaming, local content production, and sports broadcasting under one integrated model. With close to 17,000 employees, it becomes one of the most powerful audiovisual companies operating in Africa.

The Role of African National Broadcasters

National broadcasters retain mass reach thanks to free-to-air access and cultural proximity. Out of roughly 240 million households in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 42% own a television set. Of these, approximately 65% watch free-to-air (FTA) channels, while 35% subscribe to pay-TV services.

This means public broadcasters remain the primary providers of news, culture, and live national events. Yet they face chronic challenges: limited public funding, outdated infrastructure, and a lack of premium content to capture younger audiences.
Their strategies are twofold:

• Partnerships with private operators for co-productions and event broadcasting.
• Localization of content (news, drama, and entertainment in national languages) to maintain relevance and identity.

A Complex Competitive Battlefield

The Canal+–MultiChoice entity is not competing in isolation. It faces strong rivals on several fronts:

• Global streaming platforms: Netflix counts an estimated 1.8 million African subscribers, while Showmax, now part of Canal+, has around 2.1 million. Disney+ and Amazon Prime are also ramping up their African footprint.
• Telecom operators: Firms like MTN, Orange, and Safaricom are bundling mobile data plans with video-on-demand, targeting Africa’s mobile-first consumers.
• Local start-ups: Platforms like Nigeria’s IrokoTV are experimenting with low-cost, ad-supported models designed for price-sensitive audiences.

A Market in Rapid Expansion

Africa, home to 1.4 billion people, 60% under the age of 25, is the world’s fastest-growing pay-TV market, with annual growth rates between 7% and 10%.

By 2030, over 600 million Africans are expected to be connected to 4G or 5G networks, shifting consumption habits toward mobile streaming and multi-device usage. This positions Africa as a critical growth engine for audiovisual industries.

Benchmark: Subscribers and Reach

• Canal+–MultiChoice (Pay-TV): about 40 million paying subscribers, making it the largest combined pay-TV base on the continent.
• Netflix Africa (SVOD): around 1.8 million subscribers, despite its global brand power.
• National broadcasters (FTA): a free-to-air reach of more than 150 million regular viewers, offering scale but without subscription revenues.

Strategic Priorities and Challenges

For Canal+–MultiChoice, three immediate priorities stand out:

1. Integration: unify infrastructure, teams, and offers across regions.
2. Local content production: boost Nollywood, South African cinema, and Francophone creative industries.
3. Positioning: maintain a lead over global streamers by leveraging exclusive sports rights and African storytelling.

For national broadcasters, the challenge is twofold: modernize their offer and capitalize on cultural proximity. Hybrid models—such as ad-supported streaming (AVOD), free-to-air partnerships, or telecom bundles—could provide pathways to survival and relevance.

With MultiChoice, Canal+ emerges as Africa’s audiovisual powerhouse, uniting scale, integration, and local production capacity. National broadcasters remain influential through their mass reach, while global streamers threaten with innovation and flexibility. The coming years will test whether Canal+ can convert Africa’s demographic dynamism and digital growth into sustainable revenues, while ensuring that African audiences are not just consumers but also producers of content that reflects their identity and diversity.