Barely a month after completing its full acquisition of MultiChoice, French media giant Canal+ is wasting no time rebranding DStv for the next era of Africa’s pay-TV and streaming competition. The strategy blends nostalgia, affordability, and premium European content, a calculated push to reclaim audiences lost to digital streaming platforms.
For years, DStv has struggled with falling subscriber numbers and tightening margins. Over the past two financial years, MultiChoice lost 2.8 million active linear subscribers, with 1.2 million losses in 2025 alone — an 8% year-on-year drop, split evenly between South Africa and the rest of the continent.
Analysts say these losses reflect a challenging pay-TV landscape shaped by high subscription fees, shrinking disposable incomes, and a wave of new streaming services, now exceeding 560 across Africa.
A Nostalgic Reset for DStv’s 30th Anniversary
To mark DStv’s 30th anniversary, Canal+ and MultiChoice are launching a nostalgic “Open Time Weekend” campaign from November 7–Premium Football and Subscriber Expanding Africa’s Content Library
Beyond sports, Canal+ is betting heavily on African storytelling.
“We create about 4,000 hours of African content each year in up to 15 languages,” said David Mignot, CEO of Canal+ Africa. “Together with MultiChoice’s 6,000 hours, we’ll deliver 10,000 hours per year across 20–35 languages.”
The long-term goal is ambitious: build a 100,000-hour content library over the next 10–15 years — and make it global through dubbing, rescripting, and cross-market distributionRewards
To reward loyalty and attract new signups, DStv Premium subscribers will get two additional all-device streams (for a total of four) until December.
The DStv Rewards Programme is also being refreshed with BoxOffice movie rentals, VIP sports experiences, celebrity meet-and-greets, and event invitations, reinforcing a more engaging, experience-driven model.
Perhaps the most high-profile addition is football. SuperSport, now backed by Canal+, has started broadcasting French Ligue 1 matches, featuring elite clubs like PSG, Marseille, Lyon, and Monaco.
“Broadcasting a prestigious league such as Ligue 1 only adds to the value our subscribers receive,” said Rendani Ramovha, SuperSport’s Director of English Sport Content.
The partnership marks Canal+’s first major content synergy on the continent, combining its European sports rights portfolio with DStv’s dominant African distribution network.9, 2025, giving all active decoder users free access to DStv Premium content.
The campaign revives familiar faces from South Africa’s television past, including Ashley Hayden, Scot Scott, and Doreen Morris, who once hosted M-Net’s original Open Time slots in the 1990s.
“DStv has grown up alongside its viewers,” said Byron du Plessis, CEO of SA PayTV. “For three decades, we’ve been part of South Africans’ homes, weekends, and memories.”
As part of the celebration, DStv is cutting the price of its HD decoders, by 30% in retail channels and over 40% via its new online store, starting November 1. The move is designed to reconnect lapsed users and lower entry barriers amid fierce competition from Netflix, Showmax, and Disney+.
