StudioCanal is a production company which very much like M-Net or MultiChoice Studios curates originals ranging from films or television series. It has established it's presence in US, UK and parts of Europe with plans underway to extend their reach to more African markets through their acquisition of MultiChoice.
For those who are unfamiliar, StudioCanal is home to Paddington this was after Canal+ had bought rights to the franchise in 2016. They're also responsible for a number of productions including Spinners (from M-Net), Bridget Jones, Escape From New York and Terminator: Judgement Day.
In their prospectus published on 31 October 2024, Canal+ had outlined plans to leverage StudioCanal's expertise onto MultiChoice which would see the company building up on IPs that can attract a vast majority of households. MultiChoice has so far made local adaptations of The Real Housewives and Big Brother and Canal+ wants to expand.
I think the only question at this point is where does this leave M-Net as it has been a curator of local content seen on Mzansi Magic, KykNet and Africa Magic and also distributed international content from NBC, HBO and CBS Studios. For now, we anticipate that they'll keep the M-Net trademark intact but overtime that might change.
Usually ahead of overhauls/rebrands, a TV channel makes some adjustments to their lineup to avoid any scandal with the media. That's what happened to 1Magic and Me before it merged to form 1Max same with Boomerang before transitioning to Cartoonito there was always content on the side to embark this change.
For now content on KykNet and Mzansi Magic will be branded as M-Net originals but once this takeover concludes it could fold under Canal+ and there wouldn't be much of an M-Net left as their lineup expands. As for M-Net 101, I'd imagine it being an import for Canal+'s operations in Europe as they've licensed content there before.
MultiChoice wants to compete on a global scale and they're trusting this transaction with Canal+ will help in those efforts. I doubt remaining shareholders will oppose such a scenario as Canal+ would form part of MultiChoice and any success for one party is as much as a success for the rest.
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