Could Canal+'s MultiChoice Give HGTV The Boot?

With only a few days left in 2025, MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery have yet to come into an agreement over the fate of its 12 channels. These include Discovery Channel, TLC, TNT, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, CNN, Travel Channel and HGTV.

If these brands do get removed from DStv, some brands like Discovery Family for instance is less likely to resurface on another platform. As I mentioned, further content is on Discovery Channel.

There's also a possibility that this may extend to include HGTV.

HGTV was launched in South Africa by July 2019 and since it's inception it isn't viewable in most parts of Africa in which MultiChoice operate. Part of the reason is similar to what happened to BBC Earth's operations in these markets - it was just not viable at the time.

Now that Canal+'s is looking to slash costs at the company it's very likely that if a new agreement is reached some brands may not form part of this offering. In this case, it could as well be HGTV not because of consumer preferences but cost cutting.

MultiChoice had lost close to 3 million subscribers in the past two years and as a result they're operating income had plummeted.

Under previous management, they would have fought for HGTV but under Canal+ pricing is another factor. And if HGTV were to shutter it's less likely that StarTimes would snatch those rights and they could as well opt for alternatives e.g. Real Time.