Since last year, MultiChoice now forms part of the Canal+ ecosystem after the French company managed to acquire full ownership of the brand. This has led to various enhancements like NBA on SuperSport and the expansion of Zacu TV to DStv.
Now, all eyes are on Warner Bros. Discovery whose entangled themselves in a feud with Paramount as Netflix serves as frontrunner for its streaming and studios company.
Paramount wants to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery who plan to form Discovery Global which houses all the cable networks. At the moment, we're just standing in the sidelines waiting to see how this matters continues escalating.
Below is other deals I believe consumers should be on the lookout for some could be speculated
Warner Bros. Discovery
During the bidding process, Warner Bros. Discovery had stated they've got several solicited offers from potential buyers some like Netflix are in it for the studios. Then Paramount wants to buy the whole enchilada which would risk over $50 billion in debt.
Would you believe me if I said that shareholders at Warner Bros. Discovery can do without Paramount's offer?
Even if the Netflix deal fails, Warner Bros. Discovery can continue to split the company and look to sell the split parts and still make as much as Paramount's current offer which is $108 billion.
According to some insiders, Starz Entertainment and Standard General have both been eyeing Warner's cable networks. It should be noted that there's barely any overlap in assets making approval chances a lot higher.
It's clear here that both companies similar to Canal+ are trying to increase scale in a landscape ruled by social media and YouTube. They both lack broad appeal and Discovery Global gives them that advantage.
At the time news of their bids were made transparent it was stated that it was not applicable. That doesn't mean they're not interested, they're probably focused on the Netflix deal and will explore this at a later stage.
Paramount/NBCUniversal
If Paramount is able to own CNN and Cartoon Network expect massive cost synergies amounting to possibly $5 billion. They'll be wasting over $100 billion to get what they want and in most M&As the acquiring company tries to recover those funds.
Some sources have indicated or speculated that if their bid fails to garner traction. The other option would be a possible buyout or merger with either Lionsgate and NBCUniversal.
NBCUniversal's owners Comcast served as another bidder for Warner Bros. Discovery whose plans included merging it with NBCUniversal. This was the only way they could get clearance for the deal as Trump dislikes the company's CEO and CNBC.
Since then, various media outlets long predicted that Comcast could explore a potential sale or partnership for the brand and who better than Paramount.
Before Skydance acquired Paramount, they were talks of the two potentially merging and in Europe the two are basically partners with the rollout of SkyShowtime.
A+E Global Media
Starz Entertainment which had already made a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's cable networks had also explored acquiring A+E Global Media. They'll probably be more updates on this during the year as of right now it's kind of quo.
A+E Global Media is responsible for the distribution of Lifetime and History channels in the US while in Europe those rights are held by Sky Studios.
Canal+
MultiChoice isn't the final pitstop in buyouts for the French broadcaster as they acquired majority stake in a MC Vision. A Mauritius based broadcaster operating in French speaking Africa.
They also have stakes in VIU which is based in Southeast Asia and Viaplay in the Nordic regions. All of these the French broadcaster could look to gobble within the year as they aim to reach 50 million to 100 million subscribers by 2028.
Another buyout that wouldn't surprise me for the year would be for Senegalese based production company, Marodi TV.
ITV
A few years ago, ITV Choice was yanked from DStv consumers and since then the channel's owner ITV plc had been undergoing restructure. This included and was not limited to a sale of their company.
CVC Capital Partners, TF1 Group, RedBird Capital Partners, All3Media, Mediawan and KKR had been linked to as potential buyers. Even Comcast's Sky had entered talks to acquire only the linear networks and ITVx.
