Since 2020, Canal+ had been acquiring a small stake in the pay-tv company this led to speculation of a possible takeover as they attempted to acquire MultiChoice Africa. With their current stake, they were able to distribute Zee World and M-Net Movies 4 in Francophone Africa.
These channels were curated specifically for MultiChoice consumers and with Canal+ offer over a possible takeover one has to wonder what fate might await linear offering viewed on StarSat and several other pay-tv platforms in Africa.
But if we had to guess Canal+ could look into integrating their assets with MultiChoice seeing as they have a stronger presence in the African market. Filmbox comes with a streaming service perhaps this merger can lead the service to be substituted with Showmax/DStv Stream.
Filmbox and Filmbox Action on Starsat could be phased out for either M-Net Movies 3, M-Net Movies 4 or Movie Room. As mentioned, Canal+ had been seen distributing various DStv curated channels on their platforms so the idea of them doing it on other platforms wouldn't seem far fetched.
Another instance is Filmbox being phased out from StarSat as well as various platforms across Africa if not replacing third party channels like TNT and Studio Universal on DStv. It would only leave brands like FashionBox, DocuBox, Gametoon, Arthouse and Timeless Dizi Channel.
With Canal+ aligning themselves with MultiChoice, it wouldn't seem far fetched a stretch if they tried to get SPI offerings on DStv. For instance Gametoon could come in place of Ginx TV, it is property of Canal+ therefore a sibling to that of M-Net and Mzansi Magic.
Then there's FashionBox and Arthouse, perhaps one of the two could look into replacing Spice TV since it is more of an overflow than a fashion channel. Followed by DocuBox which could as well compliment channels like People's Weather and Curiosity.
Timeless Dizi Channel could get spun off on DStv perhaps morph into an Afrikaans dubbed Turkish channel curated with content from kykNET. Another would be the phasing out of Turkish on kykNET as it has been conflicting with other local programming on the channel.
Canal+ owning brands like Mzansi Magic and Africa Magic could lead to global domination. The Africa Channel is already seen airing content viewed from these brands in international shores perhaps Canal+ could use SPI International's offering as a means to extend its reach.
Great article. I also have a feeling therebwill be a crossover between star sat a DStv in sharing content which will sooner or later make the two brands in distinguishable.
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