Canal+ Could Seek To Revive It's Operations In Ethiopia Through Bid To Acquire MultiChoice

Last year, Canal+ SA made the decision to shutter it's pay-tv services in Ethiopia following its launch in the market by 2021. The French broadcaster had mentioned that they would continue to invest in content production for the region as it looks to complete it's acquisition of MultiChoice.

Africa's biggest pay-tv provider already offered services in the region with Abol TV, Zee Alem and SuperSport Liyu and with this acquisition they would basically supplement the former's local endeavours through DStv. Aside from local channels, DStv also packages various international channels viewed on Canal+ like History, MTV Base and Cartoon Network.

Canal+ SA seeks to be the largest broadcaster in Africa and for several years has made numerous investments within the region including ROK Studios (Nigeria), Zacu Entertainment (Rwanda) and Marodi TV (Congolese). Through this transaction with MultiChoice, they could seek to unite these services through DStv.

Both companies are giving themselves until April 2025 to finalize the transaction which is awaiting approval from South African regulators. If approved, Canal+ SA would extend its reach to over 40 million households giving them more exposure and resources to take on giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Aside from MultiChoice, Paramount Global is also eyeing a potential tie-up with Skydance with the deal set to be finalised within the first quarter of 2025. With more developments set to be underway between Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery who are looking to disinvest in their cable networks currently seen on DStv.