Canal+ Confirms Rugby World Cup Broadcast And More On SuperSport

The CANAL+ Group on Wednesday confirmed an agreement with World Rugby for the rights to broadcast Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 live on SuperSport, on DStv, across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The announcement came as the French group, which recently acquired the MultiChoice Group, confirmed its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The confirmation of the broadcast rights for the men’s tournament that will be held in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027 will mean that DStv and GOtv subscribers can look forward to seeing South Africa and Zimbabwe represent Africa at rugby’s biggest global tournament. The 11th edition signals a major evolution for the tournament, expanding to 24 teams and featuring a new format with a round of 16 for the first time, delivering more matches and drama, while creating greater opportunities for emerging nations.

South Africa’s Springboks will be aiming to defend their title after back-to-back triumphs at Japan 2019 and France 2023 as they chase a historic fifth victory.

Zimbabwe also returns to rugby’s biggest competition for the first time since 1991, when the Sables last featured on the Rugby World Cup stage. Other rugby powerhouses such as New Zealand, England, Ireland, France and hosts Australia will be going all out to add their names to the prestigious Webb Ellis Cup awarded to the Men’s Rugby World Cup winners. 

Meanwhile, in the women’s game, England’s Red Roses will enter the 2029 tournament as defending champions, having lifted the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 on home soil in a record-breaking competition for viewership, attendance and engagement. South Africa also made history in the last tournament by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, becoming the first African team to do so.

Included in the broadcast agreement are World Rugby’s men’s 15s competitions: the World Rugby Junior World Championship, recently expanded to 16 teams, and the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup.

World Rugby Chief Revenue Officer, Michel Poussau said: “We are delighted to partner with the CANAL+ Group to deliver comprehensive, high-quality coverage of international rugby’s pinnacle competitions across Africa, including two exceptional Rugby World Cups in Australia in 2027 and 2029. This agreement is a major step in expanding the reach of the game, ensuring fans across the continent can watch, follow and engage more deeply with rugby. We look forward to working closely with CANAL+ teams to bring the sport closer to audiences and inspire the next generation of players and fans in Africa.”

CANAL+ also confirmed that SuperSport will remain the exclusive broadcaster for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) following a multi-year broadcast rights renewal of the inter-continental club competition.

“Confirming these broadcast rights puts the seal on an incredible occasion for us as the CANAL+ Group, alongside the MultiChoice Group, as we have secured broadcast rights to many major rugby tournaments for our subscribers,” said David Mignot, CANAL+ Africa CEO. 

“This is another firm commitment that we are putting our subscribers first by ensuring they never miss out on the best sports content from the continent and from across the globe. We’d also like to acknowledge our partners, World Rugby and the VURC, with whom we will work closely to bring these exciting tournaments to life.”

ESPN Africa Will Begin Airing The NBA Finals In June 2026

NBA - CONFERENCE FINALS AND FINALS

The NBA conference finals are the Eastern and Western Conference championship series of the National Basketball Association.

The finals will begin 3 June 2026:

3 June: NBA Finals 2026 Game 1 

5 June: NBA Finals 2026 Game 2

8 June: NBA Finals 2026 Game 3 

10 June: NBA Finals 2026 Game 4

THE JAPANESE RUGBY LEAGUE – FINALS

Japan Rugby League One, formerly known as the Top League, is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. 

The teams participating in the final are TBC.

3rd place match will take place 6 June.

The final will take place on 7 June.

THE AFL (AUSSIE RULES)

The Australian Football League is the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association, with its inaugural season in 1897.

Key fixtures:

4 June: Hawthorn vs Bulldogs 

13 June: North Melbourne vs West Coast 

18 June: Fremantle vs Geelong 

20 June: GWS Giants vs Carlton 

Please note: 

All fixtures and schedules are subject to change. 

Broadcast times are provided in CAT (Central African Time) 

How to tune in to ESPN:

ESPN: DStv 218, StarTimes 248 

ESPN2: DStv 219, StarTimes 249

Why Canal+ Might Be Looking To Add Sporty TV On DStv?

As reported, MultiChoice is looking to rollout Sporty TV on DStv in the coming months with the company had begun tests on the channel earlier in the year. It was stated at the time that MultiChoice might look to rollout Sporty TV in select markets.

This is because MultiChoice was conducting tests on an East African feed to Sporty TV for consumers in those markets. While no further testing was done for Sporty TV within other markets.

Now it looks like MultiChoice might be looking to debut the channel in Southern African territories. Several consumers have spotted an electronic programme guide of Sporty TV with stuff like La Liga 2025/6, Arsenal TV: Hull City v. Arsenal.

It remains unclear as to why MultiChoice is adding a channel like Sporty TV but we have a couple of guesses.

Firstly, Canal+ bought out the company back in 2025 and they serve as an aggregator of content. Within their other territories, they are notorious for sourcing content from rival broadcasters as seen in France with BEIN Sports and DAZN.

Under the Naspers regime, MultiChoice was very selective in what content gets broadcast on DStv as they strived for originality. SuperSport was positioned as the have it all platform that ESPN and Racing240 didn't overlap with it's existing offering.

But ever since the Canal+ buyout that's no longer the case with NBA that had been picked by SuperSport with other sporting events like World Darts Championship and Winter Olympics not picked up.

SuperSport had been stripped off its acquisition power with most of the decisions now made in France. With the buyout, Canal+ basically integrated it's narratives and creative depth onto MultiChoice.

Canal+ is more focused on catering to the masses and their strategy isn't revolved entirely strived on originality as seen in the past with MultiChoice. But it's a popularity contest as that usually leads to a high retention of consumers.

Think of what happened to WWE after TKO acquired creative control, you have more sponsorships and ads between live matches. And there's more content creators and artists between tapings think of IShowSpeed, Bad Bunny, Pat Macafee and Jelly Roll.

Sporty TV likely fits that area taken up after all they had acquired rights to 104 FIFA matches and have been garnering buzz online. Canal+ is probably eyeing Sporty TV as part of its various strategies in retaining consumers.

Canal+ Strengthens MultiChoice's Partnership With PSL

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) and CANAL+ Group have held talks aimed at strengthening their long-standing partnership following the French broadcaster’s recent acquisition of the MultiChoice Group.

Executives from CANAL+ met with PSL chairman Irvin Khoza as part of the company’s broader strategy to expand its investment in local content, particularly sport.

The PSL and MultiChoice partnership dates back to 2007, with SuperSport playing a major role in improving the production quality and reach of domestic football broadcasts across South Africa and the continent.

Khoza described the PSL as more than just a football competition, saying the league had become a “cultural infrastructure” that connects communities across generations and regions.

“Every PSL match carries consequences and has an impact on the others,” said Khoza. “This cascading effect sustains an ongoing national conversation that reaches across communities and generations.”

He added that CANAL+’s broadcasting capabilities had helped the league reach millions of supporters, despite concerns around declining stadium attendances at some matches.

“Every PSL match carries value, irrespective of the number of spectators in the stadium,” Khoza said. “Each match’s true significance lies in its consequence within the league.”

CANAL+ director for sports content in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa, Rendani Ramovha, reaffirmed the broadcaster’s commitment to South African football.

“The PSL is a key partner to the group, and it is important to ensure that we maintain a good relationship with our key stakeholders,” said Ramovha.

He said local football remained one of the most in-demand offerings on DStv and SuperSport, adding that CANAL+ viewed the PSL as an important platform to continue innovating its sports broadcast product.

The Betway Premiership is currently locked in a tightly contested title race between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

SA Rugby and Canal+ Sign Rights Renewal Agreement

SA Rugby and the CANAL+ Group, MultiChoice Group’s parent company, have concluded the renewal of their multi-year domestic broadcast rights agreement.

The renewal of the agreement will see SuperSport, Africa’s leading sports broadcaster, continue to be the only official broadcast rights holder for all SARU’s domestic competitions and Springbok women’s and junior age-group matches in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This announcement is the first of its kind with a major local sports federation since CANAL+ joined forces with the MultiChoice Group in September last year, reaffirming CANAL+’s long-term commitment to local sport.

SuperSport has been a proud SA Rugby broadcast partner for more than 30 years.

SARU President Mark Alexander said: “We are very happy to have concluded our first agreement with the MultiChoice Group and CANAL+ Group after a thorough and extensive series of engagements. They have demonstrated a shared understanding of the importance of rugby to the South African public and we trust this is the first of many such agreements.”

CANAL+ Africa CEO David Mignot was delighted with the continuation of the domestic rights agreement, which will make all domestic rugby matches available exclusively on SuperSport.

'PROUD MOMENT'

In South Africa, the SuperSport channels are supplied by Canal + Africa to MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd, which provides the DStv offering to subscribers.

“As promised, we are doubling down on our investment in local content, including the sports content that matters the most to people on the continent. In the South African market, rugby has grown into becoming a part of the national psyche – as evidenced by the national euphoria that erupted each time the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup,” said Mignot.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer added: “Broadcasting rights are fundamental to the health and sustainability of sport in South Africa and rugby is no different. SuperSport has been a long-standing and trusted partner to South African rugby, and we are delighted to continue our partnership.

“The world of rugby and broadcasting has changed significantly since we signed our first agreement in the 1990s but it is a testimony to our mutual interests that the partnership continues to endure.”

Rendani Ramovha, CANAL+ Director for Sports Content in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa : “The renewal of the domestic broadcast agreement is not just the strengthening of our long-standing partnership with SA Rugby but a victory for DStv viewers and subscribers, who have come to trust us to bring the best sports content to them in our world-class broadcast quality.

“To be able to continue this promise is a proud moment for us, and it reaffirms our commitment to the sports fan. We’re grateful to our partners at SA Rugby for their collaborative spirit.”

It's Called Football: My Name Is Francesco Totti, Take Pass And More On eReality

Here's a breakdown of the four episodes featured in the eReality promotional poster for the "It's Called Football" football legends programming block at 8PM in May 2026. 

1. Saturday 9 May 8 PM – Cristiano Ronaldo

This is a biographical or highlight-focused documentary on one of football's greatest modern icons. It likely covers his journey from a humble upbringing in Madeira, Portugal, through his explosive rise at Sporting CP and Manchester United, his record-breaking years at Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr, and his international career with Portugal (including the 2016 Euros win).

2. Saturday 16 May 8 PM – Unidentified player (crouched pose on the pitch)

It may feature another football legend or a thematic episode (e.g., a South African or African football story, or a player known for iconic crouched celebrations/moments of pressure). Given the block's focus on legends, it could involve a player like a younger Ronaldo highlight, or another icon. The crouched pose suggests themes of resilience, comeback, or intense focus.

3. Saturday 23 May 8 PM – "TAKE THE PASS" 

This appears to be a thematic episode centered on creativity, playmaking, passing genius, or iconic "pass-and-move" moments in football. It may highlight visionaries and flair players (the imagery suggests flair/technical masters). 

4. Saturday 30 May 8 PM – Francesco Totti – "My Name is Francesco Totti

This is the well-known 2020 Italian feature documentary (Mi chiamo Francesco Totti) directed by Alex Infascelli. In it, the AS Roma legend and one-club man retraces his entire life and 24-year career while watching footage of it on the big screen alongside the audience. It blends career highlights (his leadership, goals, loyalty to Roma, 2006 World Cup win with Italy) with personal reflections, emotions, family moments, and the highs and lows of his journey from Roman street kid to club icon and captain. Totti himself narrates and guides the story, making it intimate and nostalgic. 

Canal+ Adds Serie A To It's African Offering, Launches BBC Earth In French

Canal+ Afrique following it's parent company Canal+ acquisition of MultiChoice is expanding its SuperSport offering with Africa 2. This will give consumers access to the Italian top-flight with the rollout of Serie A.

This brings the number of SuperSport channels available on Canal+ Afrique in francophone markets to 7, which also includes Premier League, LaLiga, Football Plus, Football, WWE, and Action.

In addition to that, BBC Earth also will be making its debut on Canal+, in French. The channel is already available on DStv for South African viewers with shows like Planet Earth, Dynasties, Banded Brothers and Eden Untamed Planet.

BBC Earth will debut on channel 203 while SuperSport Africa 2 airs on channel 727.

Canal+ is currently in the process of deploying its streaming app in MultiChoice markets after being made available in Francophone markets. The streaming service is set to replace Showmax which will be going dark across Africa by the end of April.

Canal+ To Rollout Fishing TV Channel To Consumers Across Africa (Excluding MultiChoice Territories)

Fishing TV is a premium video-on-demand (VOD) platform dedicated to recreational angling (fishing). Launched in 2009, it serves as a specialized streaming service for high-quality fishing content, functioning like a "Netflix for fishing".

It aggregates and produces professional fishing TV shows, videos, movies, documentaries, and short tips from around the world. This include The Fishing TV Show, Yucatan Anglers TV and 24 Hr Rod Race.

Fishing TV organizes its library into dedicated channels (categories) covering nearly every style and discipline of recreational fishing. This includes Fly Fishing, Saltwater, Carp, Coarse & Match and Predator Fishing.

During the month, it was reported that Canal+ Afrique would be adding Fishing TV to their platforms. This was accompanied by various channels already seen on DStv like SuperSport Grandstand, Comedy Central and History.

Similar to Love Nature, Fishing TV serves as yet another TV channel that the French broadcaster hadn't picked up for MultiChoice territories. Despite offering The Wildfly Fishing Series and Inside Angling on SuperSport.

Aside from offering a linear channel, Fishing TV is available on Smart TVs, mobile devices (iOS/Android), tablets, and set-top boxes.

SuperSport Announced That It Will Broadcast All 104 matches Of The FIFA World Cup 2026

The announcement was made during a sudden mid-game interruption while Kaizer Chiefs was playing Magesi FC, in a short ad starring Idris Elba.

DStv will broadcast the matches live across SuperSport on DStv, DStv Stream, GOtv, and GOtv Stream. Viewers can watch on mobile phones, laptops, and smart TVs.

Coverage will be available in English and Portuguese, as well as local African languages including isiZulu, Sesotho, Kiswahili, and Pidgin.

The tournament kicks off on 11 June 2026 on DStv, with the opening ceremony in Mexico City broadcast live on SuperSport.

The first match will see Bafana Bafana take on Mexico.

Coverage will run from pre-match build-up to the final whistle, bringing Africa together to watch.

Possible Canal+ Victims: SuperSportBET, SuperSport Park, SA20 League And SuperSport Schools

During the week, it was announced that MultiChoice ended it's sponsorship for the DStv Delicious Festival after 13 years. This forms part of Canal+'s cost cutting measures after acquiring the company by late 2025.

This news doesn't really come as a surprise to some outlets as Canal+ had been trying to exit services which has been deemed non-core to its strategy. And DStv Delicious Festival served as an unnecessary expense for the French broadcaster.

Other assets also at MultiChoice that could be under review come from SuperSport and this ranges from SuperSport Park, SuperSportBET, SuperSport Schools and SA20 League. 

SuperSport Park is a cricket stadium located in Centurion, It is the home ground of the Titans cricket team and hosts international Test, ODI, and T20 matches. This comes with a lot of physical expenses that the company doesn't need.

Because Canal+ can't retrench anyone for three years that doesn't block them from selling SuperSport Park. In the event of a sale, workers would fall under the new owner's jurisdiction and not that of MultiChoice and SuperSport.

SuperSportBET is an online sports betting and casino platform launched in January 2024 by MultiChoice Group in partnership with KingMakers (Betking). It still operates at a loss compared to established brands like Betway and HollywoodBet.

If it's situation doesn't improve there's a strong chance that Canal+ will discontinue its services.

The SA20 (officially Betway SA20) is South Africa’s premier domestic T20 franchise cricket league, launched in 2023 as Cricket South Africa’s (CSA). It forms part of a venture with MultiChoice and SuperSport with them having minority stake.

The reason this comes under the microscope is due to the stake as Canal+ serves a distributor of sporting events. They're not the type to offer grassroot events or sponsorships which is where SuperSport Schools also factors in.

Not that Canal+ also owns SuperSport Schools, if they were to be paying for a separate production facility, travel costs for some of the players and other accomodations. Those could form part of the cost cutting measures at MultiChoice.

Sporty TV Secures Rights To The Upcoming FIFA World Cup Games

Sports broadcasting service SportyTV has announced it has secured the rights to show all 104 matches of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 in South Africa on a pay-TV basis.

SportyTV inked the deal one year after launching in the South African market, and it said all World Cup matches will be streamed on its streaming platform.

It has apps for Android and iOS, as well as support for major TV brands. Currently, accessing SportyTV requires creating a SportyBet account.

SportyTV also has a channel on Openview, which it launched in 2025. However, Openview is a free-to-view satellite TV platform, and SportyTV has secured the pay-TV rights to the FIFA World Cup.

The company has made no explicit announcement about whether it will or will not show the matches on eMedia’s Openview platform.

“Having entered South Africa with a bold statement through the broadcast of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, the platform now acquires the biggest sporting event on the planet,” SportyTV announced.

“This move firmly establishes its dominance in one of Africa’s most competitive media landscapes.”

SportyTV said the production will match the scale of the rights and that it will deliver comprehensive pre- and post-match coverage from its studios in Cape Town and Madrid.

A lineup of commentators and football pundits will be revealed soon, with the company adding that it will deploy crews in the United States, Canada and Mexico to follow the South African national team.

“Beyond live coverage, the platform will execute a fully integrated 360° content strategy, combining always-on digital output, social-first storytelling, and real-time fan engagement.”

Elias Gallego, SportyGroup’s VP of business development, marketing, and media, said that the 2026 World Cup is the perfect stage to showcase the company’s digital content ecosystem in South Africa.

“With this agreement, SportyTV is revamping the model for sports broadcasting in emerging markets, combining accessibility, premium production, and integrated monetisation at scale.”

Alongside the upcoming FIFA World Cup games, SportyTV also provides live content, original programming and digital-first experiences in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

According to its website, the company’s programming is available on Openview’s channel 125. Its app has over five million downloads across its markets on Android and iOS.

SportyTV said that it wants to position itself as the “definitive home” of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in South Africa.

More DStv Channels Coming Soon To Canal+ Afrique

Canal+ Afrique which serves as MultiChoice's French equivalent in Africa has distributed various DStv channels like Zee World, Studio Universal and Africa Magic Igbo. This is because MultiChoice was acquired by Canal+ Afrique's owners in late 2025.

This gave Canal+ Afrique access to M-Net's local archives as well as brands like Telemundo and Universal TV whose availability was exclusive to only MultiChoice consumers.

In exchange, MultiChoice was given access to Canal+'s local endeavours with Pulaayu and Zacu Entertainment alongside StudioCanal.

During the year, it was reported that Canal+ Afrique's DStv English Plus consumers had gained access to WWE, La Liga and Studio Universal. It appears that the broadcaster is looking to expand on this with Fishing TV, History and Comedy Central.

HISTORY: It broadcasts documentaries and shows about historical events, ancient civilizations, wars, mysteries, biographies, and factual entertainment.

Comedy Central: It specializes in comedy — stand-up specials, sitcoms (like South Park, The Office reruns, or local adaptations), sketch shows, and humorous series.

Fishing TV: A niche channel dedicated to fishing and angling. It features fishing shows, tutorials, documentaries, competitions, travel to fishing spots worldwide, and content for recreational anglers (freshwater, saltwater, fly fishing, etc.).

Canal+ is adding more sports channels 

Also on the cards is SuperSport Events, Variety, Africa 1 and 2 which builds onto speculation that Canal+ Afrique may be looking to distribute SuperSport's entire offering. This is due to Grandstand's presence on the platform.

MultiChoice distributes Grandstand exclusively to its top paying clients on DStv Premium. If it were to resurface on Canal+ Afrique perhaps a lot cheaper it would diminish the value for the brand.

S-Events: This is a sports events channel. It focuses on major live sports broadcasts, special events, and key matches or competitions (often football, rugby, or other high-profile games that don't fit on the main Canal+ Sport channel).

Grandstand: A dedicated sports channel, similar to "Grandstand" formats elsewhere (like SuperSport Grandstand). It provides extensive live sports coverage, multi-event switching, highlights, and analysis — ideal for following several games or tournaments at once.

Africa: This channel features African-focused content, including local and pan-African movies, series, music, cultural shows, news, and entertainment tailored to African audiences.

Africa 2: A companion to Africa, offering more African programming — often additional movies, series, or variety content from across the continent (sometimes with a slightly different emphasis, like more Nollywood-style films or regional shows).

Variety 1: A general entertainment and variety channel. It typically airs a mix of movies, series, talk shows, music, reality TV, and lighter programming for broad appeal.

Canal+ Madagascar shared the news on their social platforms on April 1st (APRIL FOOLS) before taking it down and I doubt Canal+ would go through all that work and just lie. It could be that it was announced too early or they're still trying to finalize things.

Canal+ Might Look To Reduce Local Commentary At SuperSport

As some people may have heard, the Competition Commission is monitoring Canal+ following it's acquisition of MultiChoice in 2025. This includes the company's decision to shut down Showmax with voluntarily retrenchments also underway.

According to Rapport, there's growing fear amongst the media that Canal+ could look to reduce local commentary at SuperSport. This is because the French giant can't retrench staff and are looking for ways to save money.

One way they could look to save up on costs is by scrapping Afrikaans commentary during cricket matches. Especially if there's not much people using this option when the games are broadcast.

Not long ago, Solidarity had questioned SuperSport, on its decision for not providing Afrikaans commentary for the New Zealand series. Their claim was later rebuffed after it was revealed that no local commentary was done at all.

This was because of the low viewership count for these matches and even when they do broadcast matches with SA teams. It's normal for some matches to not be dubbed while others that do usually cover several local languages.

There was also concerns about Canal+ scaling back on locally produced shows for more dubbed series as seen with the American drama, Landman. 

It was stated by them that it would make no sense in scaling back this offering as it serves as a core component in their strategy. Making Landman available in Afrikaans only helps broaden the reach of this offering to more consumers.

Athletics South Africa Exits SuperSport After 4 Years With Further Matches Set To Be Broadcast On SABC

DStv consumers have to brace for more bad news as Athletics SA had announced that their agreement with SuperSport had come to an end after 4 years. As the new owners Canal+ are busy aggressively slashing costs at MultiChoice.

Canal+ stripped SuperSport of its acquisition power with decisions over what to broadcast made in Paris. Since then, DStv consumers had missed out on various events like World Darts Championship, Winter Olympics and now Athletics SA.

According to Cash N Sport, Athletics SA was in talks with the SABC and SuperSport but couldn't come to an agreement over which events would air on either broadcaster. They were aiming to restructure their broadcasting agreement with SuperSport.

After SuperSport and Athletics SA formed an alliance to have these matches broadcast exclusively on DStv. The plan was to make a non-exclusive agreement which would give them a cheque and increased exposure from the SABC. 

With Athletics SA losing a major broadcaster like SuperSport, there's growing fear about how they'll plan to accommodate it's staff and put on races. Advertising alone can't accommodate sports as opposed to general entertainment.

Even though these matches would be broadcast on SABC, the broadcaster has fallen on troubled times and relied on sponsors to cover such events. With them losing out on SuperSport, the quality of these matches will see further diminish.

 

Reminder: NBA Playoffs Begin On ESPN Africa From April 19, 2026

NBA PLAYOFFS

The NBA playoffs is the annual elimination tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the league's regular season and its preliminary postseason tournament, the NBA play-in tournament.

The Playoffs begin on 19 April 2026.

NHL PLAYOFFS

The Stanley Cup playoffs is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular season. 

Please note: 

All fixtures and schedules are subject to change. 

Broadcast times are provided in CAT (Central African Time) 

How to tune in to ESPN:

ESPN: DStv 218, StarTimes 248 

ESPN2: DStv 219, StarTimes 249

MultiChoice Might Be Adding Sporty TV To DStv Consumers In Some African Countries

Sporty TV is a 24/7 free-to-air sports channel operated by Sporty Group, known for SportyBET. It positions itself as a "home of premium football" for African audiences, offering a mix of live matches, highlights, and specialized sports programming.

Since last year, it had been distributed on eMedia Investments' Openview platform offering a variety of events from Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Most of which is already accessible via MultiChoice and Canal+ Afrique consumers.

Now it looks like MultiChoice might be adding Sporty TV soon but not to DStv customers in South Africa and probably most of Africa. As tests for this channel has been labelled as Sporty TV Kenya.

Why would MultiChoice want with Sporty TV as it a majority of content is on SuperSport?

But my understanding in this regard is that Canal+ took control of the company since September 2025 and stripped SuperSport of its decision making in Randburg as all of this is now done in Paris.

Post the takeover, Canal+ has been very vocal about the difference in strategies between both parties. 

MultiChoice offered Africa's leading streaming service Showmax which rivalled with it's DStv offering and cost the company billions in losses. Canal+ was all about alignment with it's content spread across platforms.

The same could be said about Canal+'s procurement of content they've done deals with Sky Sport, Bein Sport and DAZN. MultiChoice tried piling up these duties under SuperSport and that never panned out when ESPN first exited the African space.

You can only assume with the addition of Sporty TV, Canal+ has taken up a new approach in procuring content for MultiChoice customers. Canal+ is more focused on leveraging of existing IPs while MultiChoice wanted to be that have it all company.

Could SuperSport Be Looking To Revamp The Variety Channels In More MultiChoice Territories?

A few years ago, MultiChoice Africa decided to away with it's Variety 2-4 channels by folding them under Africa 1 and 2 with select content on SuperSport Action. This left them with Variety 1 which is likely due for a major overhaul.

Of course, these changes have yet to take affect in South Africa and it's not known whether SuperSport will make similar arrangements as tests are underway for another TV channel.

Speculated to be SuperSport Play, this channel takes a page of Variety 4 and features a lot of local content and highlights from premium sports channels. It also serves as overflow for various sporting events like Varsity Cup and PSA.

MultiChoice made SuperSport Play available to its Free-To-View customers on DStv Stream alongside paying consumers. Now under French giant Canal+, they might be looking to make it accessible of course nothing is confirmed as yet.

Of course, this channel they've been testing out for a while now had also been airing events live on Variety 2 almost like a simulcast with variations in certain timeslots. Maybe this channel in question will lead to a restructure of the existing Variety offering.

If it's SuperSport Play, I'd imagine they'd want to readjust the lineup a bit perhaps remove all that content from Blitz seeing as it's accessible across packages. That is what happened with SuperSport Schools when it was only viewable on DStv Stream. 

Canal+ And SuperSport Renew Distribution Partnership With SA Rugby

SA Rugby and the CANAL+ Group have discussed and planned a continued partnership with SuperSport, Africa’s leading sports broadcaster, following fruitful and productive engagements in Johannesburg this week.

SA Rugby executives met with their CANAL+ Group counterparts at the MultiChoice offices in Randburg, Johannesburg, where both entities discussed strategic plans to bring rugby fans and viewers closer to the game through the existing broadcast partnership.

The two organisations met for a series of information-sharing sessions to better understand each entity's long-term strategy and move forward with a common purpose and goal as partners in delivering the best possible rugby viewing experience to viewers and DStv subscribers across the continent. These include the immersive experiences as well as storytelling, which brings viewers more of the sports content they desire beyond the live action.

With SA Rugby preparing to stage some of the most exciting rugby matches in history starting in 2026 – across Springbok men, women, junior teams, as well as sevens – the partnership with SuperSport – part of the CANAL+ Group, ensures that millions of rugby followers will get to participate in the excitement.

SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, said: “SuperSport has been at our side for decades, bringing rugby fans all the action, including Rugby World Cups, and we’re excited to continue this journey with them. We had very fruitful discussions with CANAL+ leadership in Johannesburg and, along with them, we are very excited about the road ahead.”

Rendani Ramovha, CANAL+ Director for Sports Content in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa, said: “As part of CANAL+ Africa and the CANAL+ Group, we are proud to be able to enhance our existing partnership with SA Rugby.

“Rugby plays an important role in the sports package we deliver to our CANAL+ Africa SA Pay-TV audience and the partnership with SA Rugby is crucial to delivering the very best in local and international rugby.

“We are excited to engage with the rugby governing body to find ways to deliver the sport to audiences across many different touchpoints: linear television, streaming, digital and social media.

“The robust and engaging discussions were aimed at ensuring that the viewer gets the ultimate rugby viewing experience, courtesy of this SuperSport partnership. We cannot wait for the viewers and DStv subscribers to experience all that we have in store this year, leading up to the Springboks’ title defence in Australia next year.”

More Details Regarding The Possible Expansion Of SuperSport Play On DStv

During the month, it was reported that MultiChoice might be looking to add SuperSport Play to its DStv decoders. For sometime, MultiChoice limited the channel's reach to its Free-To-View subscribers on the soon to be revamped DStv Stream app.

We assume due to Canal+'s takeover in 2025, they're basically cleaning house and assessing some of the poor decisions made by MultiChoice. In this case, it could as well be the availability of SuperSport Play.

SuperSport Play is basically a mashup of SuperSport Grandstand and Variety 4 as it sources mainly highlights and local content from SuperSport's premium sports channels. It tends to air replays to certain sporting events.

Unlike Variety 4, SuperSport Play doesn't have any live or first run content which made it the ideal channel for DStv Stream's Easyview customers.

Not long ago, MultiChoice had begun work on another SuperSport channel for DStv consumers. Initially, they used the feed for one of the Variety channels but overtime it had been replaced with a separate feed not accessible on their website.

For any future additions, usually there's some programme guide but for this one it's not the case.

From what I could gather, Reel Africa and World Of Freesports are on the lineup alongside highlights to NASCAR and International Cricket. It should be noted that none of these are seen on SuperSport Play's programme guide during that time.

But what led us to believe that it could have something to do with the channel mainly had to deal with the lineup. 

As mentioned, SuperSport Play very much like Variety 4 revolves on highlights and local content which is the case for this channel. We can only assume that maybe a linear version is starting to take shape as it's now spotted on Lyngsat.

SuperSport Play also took some of its content from SuperSport Blitz and Schools and maybe this version would have that content omitted. Seeing as Blitz and Schools are already available on Easyview.

But again this channel is in its early stages and more could be added overtime and who knows it could be a pop-up. I have doubts cause no pop-up would be airing Reel Africa as MultiChoice has its Variety channels for that.

Is The 24 Hour WWE Channel Going Dark On DStv?

During the month, it was reported that WWE would be streaming on Netflix in April for viewers across Africa, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This comes ahead of WrestleMania 42 which is scheduled to broadcast on April 18.

The question on some people's minds right now is about the fate of WWE on SuperSport. As it was understood, MultiChoice had an existing agreement which was scheduled or so we thought to expire in 2027 with the latter consolidated under Netflix.

But after Netflix sent notice to viewers, we reached out to them (even WWE) for further confirmation on the matter and this was their response.

 

Starting on 1 April 2026, WWE content will be exclusively available on Netflix.

SuperSport was asked several times about WWE's move to Netflix and whether this would lead to the removal of its content on SuperSport as well as the cancellation of the 24 hour channel and Jambo WWE.

First response: There's no confirmation at this stage 

Last response: No, it is not leaving 

During the year, MultiChoice widened the reach of the 24 hour WWE channel to its DStv Access consumers alongside Trace Gospel and Trace Ngoma. Canal+ Afrique currently distributes the WWE channel to consumers in French markets.