Canal+'s MultiChoice Has Also Begun Engaging With Local Regulators In Other African Countries

Canal+ had to delay the completion of its proposed transaction to acquire full ownership of MultiChoice in October 2025. As regulators need time to assess the transaction before taking further steps and both companies remain adamant that the processed transaction won't be delayed further.

MultiChoice had informed shareholders in other African countries of the transaction including ZBC (Zambia), KBC (Kenya) and NBC (Namibia). They are hoping to use this proposed merger to invest more toward local content and sports and derail outlets like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

They have also made fillings with regulators (to prevent legal disputes) in their respective markets with foreign ownership capped at 20% in South Africa for DStv. Canal+'s MultiChoice has proposed spinning off their licence into a separate entity known for now as LicenceCo in order to help them cross the finish line.

Is it possible more feeds could come into play for LicenceCo?

There is a reason why MultiChoice has these various shareholders under their belt and that is local jurisdiction. In Nigeria for example, you may find that they can only give their broadcast licence to a local entity even if MultiChoice owns DStv it's what's preventing Starlink's rollout in some parts of the world.

Of course, each country has a different jurisdiction while in South Africa it's merely 30% with the US it amounts to 50% last I've heard. It will be interesting to see what type of structure Canal+ will comply with in these countries and whether DStv could be broken up into LicenceCo as proposed in South Africa.

MultiChoice Africa, is a subsidiary for MultiChoice which refers to its operations in neighbouring countries like Malawi, Namibia, Kenya and Botswana. Unlike South Africa, it's not regarded as the problem child as Canal+'s former Vivendi had attempted to acquire it from Naspers before getting rejected.