The Canal+ Effect: How The French Company Might Arrange MultiChoice Going Forward?

As some readers are aware, Canal+ is looking to finalize a takeover deal with MultiChoice. This sees Mzansi Magic, KykNET and Africa Magic under the management of a French based company Vivendi whose been looking to build their global portfolio. 

There's been many questions as to how Canal+ will align MultiChoice's assets and below is what we believe could be the final outcome:

StudioCanal

As the name implies, StudioCanal is a French based film production and distribution company that currently owns the third largest film library in the world. This is where ROK Studios resided after it was acquired in 2019 with MultiChoice Studios to follow. 

Interesting enough, StudioCanal also offers subsidiaries of the same name within Austria, Germany and the UK. If I had to guess StudioCanal Africa could be on the final piece of this puzzle.

MultiChoice Studios resides within 22 million households while StudioCanal resides within 8 million. Combining this would make it an African powerhouse and probably leading Africa to have its own subsidiary within the French company. 

StudioCanal is also home to the linear ROK channel and will likely be where Mzansi Magic, Africa Magic and KykNET reside.

M7 Group/Canal+ Luxembourg S.à.r.l.

M7 Group is a Luxembourg based and also one of Europe's leading pay-tv operators offering culture and language specific packages in eight countries including Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. 

As we've seen in recent years, Canal+ has been buying out companies as a means to expand. MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv packages would serve as distant relatives and also another means to get the M7 Group services into Africa.

Metropolitan France/Canal+ Premium

This section is dedicated to their linear offering which consist of self titled brands part of which reside in Africa like Canal+ Discover and Canal+ Sport. Even SPI International brands like FilmBox Africa and even FightBox have a dedicated section in this category. 

In terms of content, M-Net and SuperSport will be handled under this section. They are expected to be remain in operation but as far as branding is concerned that is yet to be determined. 

M-Net had been pivoting toward streaming in recent years by reducing their movie offering even shutting down their secondary network Me. If you look at it, M-Net could get a proper send-off or at least by name ideally it could rebrand to Canal+ Premium/Canal+ First.

Thereafter, M-Net could remain as a trademark for a collection of local channels like Pearl Magic, Africa Magic and Maisha Magic. Never got the sense in having M-Net as a singular brand and also for a collection of locally curated channels.

If the plan was to incorporate the Canal+ trademark on sports ideally Canal+ SuperSport would make a lot of sense. This is something that they could apply temporarily and overtime simplify the name to Canal+ Sport to get viewers accustomed. 

Staylive To Distribute WBD Cycling And Motorcycling Content

Spring Media company, Staylive, was first founded in 2013, now delivering over 1,000 live sports events per week to audiences globally.

A selection of WBD Sports cycling and motorcycle sport events will be available on Staylive through pay-per-view and subscription packages in markets independent of exclusive WBD platforms and broadcast partnerships.

The cross-country cycling tournament UCI Mountain Bike World Series which kicked off the 2024 season last week in Brazil is the first sport event to stream on Staylive. The competition will also be available on WBD platforms on Max, Eurosport and discovery, as well as across several local and national broadcasters.

WBD programming also includes the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) and UCI Track Champions League.

Matt Parker, CCO of Staylive, said: “Partnering with WBD Sports for this historic season of cycling and motorcycling events is a testament to Staylive’s technical capabilities and commercial expertise. We are immensely proud to work with and alongside industry powerhouse, WBD Sports, as they secure new and innovative ways to maximise content distribution and reach. This collaboration highlights our ability to meet the high technical demands of streaming world-class sports events, while enhancing the fan experience across the globe.”

Trojan Paillot, SVP Sports Rights Acquisitions and Syndications at WBD Sports Europe, added: “Our partnership with Staylive demonstrates the commitment of WBD Sports in serving sports fans around the world with premium and diverse content from leading sports formats and properties. Through this partnership, we are not just distributing sports content, we are creating a more accessible and immersive experience for fans, no matter where they are. This is a prime example of how we’re increasing our ability to meet the evolving needs of our audience and to bring them closer to the sports they love.”

PlayKids TV FAST Channel Launches In U.K. & Ireland

PlayKids TV is distributed in the U.K. and Ireland through Netgem’s ISP partners such as TalkTalk TV, Community Fibre TV and BetterTV. The FAST channel offers families educational entertainment with curated videos organized around key moments of the day, including morning routines, afternoon play and bedtime.

The scheduling of the channel allows kids to ease into the day with cozy stories and original songs such as “Let’s Get Ready,” which helps youngsters get ready in the morning. In the afternoon, children will find content on PlayKids TV based on themes such as arts and crafts, playing together nicely and songs about animals. In the evening, little ones can enjoy winding down stories and bedtime songs.

Talking Tom & Friends, Earth to Luna and The Hive are among the offerings.

Ben Pugh, head of partnerships at Sandbox Group, said: “With over ten years in the children’s media business, we know how to engage kids best throughout the day and that entertainment alone isn’t enough. So, our focus is on providing fun educational videos for families that children love and parents can feel good about. We’re excited to be able to offer quality, curated learning content for free for families via Netgem TV’s FAST service.”

Mathieu Ghariani, director of commercial operations at Netgem, said: “We are thrilled to include PlayKids TV among our 130 FAST channels, which are distributed as part of our service in the U.K. through TalkTalk TV and numerous other operators. Netgem’s recent announcement regarding the expansion of our FAST service into new territories, dubbed FAST Lane, underscores our commitment to providing Telecom Operators with an exceptional experience while maximizing revenue for both operators and content owners. The addition of exclusive and reputable children’s content such as Playkids TV to our service exemplifies our dedication to a robust content strategy aimed at delivering a ‘Telco grade’ experience to our valued clients.”

Pending Investigation: The Competition Tribunal Orders MultiChoice To Televise Their Sporting Content To Openview Consumers

The Competition Tribunal has granted interim relief to eMedia in its fight with MultiChoice over the carriage of sublicensed sports from the SABC on its Openview free-to-air satellite platform.

eMedia took MultiChoice, which owns SuperSport, to the Competition Commission last year after the pay-television broadcaster refused to allow the SABC to broadcast rugby and cricket games on its channels it broadcasts via Openview.

According to a statement by the tribunal on Monday, eMedia has accused MultiChoice of “abusing its alleged dominant position by concluding anticompetitive and restrictive sublicensing agreements with the SABC”.

“eMedia alleges that MultiChoice prevents the SABC from broadcasting major sporting events (such as rugby and cricket games – including World Cup tournaments), sublicensed to the SABC, on the SABC’s channels carried on eMedia’s Openview platform.”

eMedia lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission last year and subsequently also sought interim relief from the tribunal to “stop MultiChoice from enforcing the restriction in existing sublicensing agreements or including such restrictions in any new sublicensing agreements until the merits of the case are decided”.

“The tribunal has granted eMedia interim relief pending the final determination of its complaint to the commission, or for a period of six months, whichever occurs first,” it said.

From Kuiertyd To Guilty Pleasures: eExtra Revives Timeless Dizi Channel, tvN And Eurochannel After Being Ousted From DStv

eExtra is a South African general entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments. Since its inception in 2017, the channel has become exclusive home of international stories viewed in Asia, Turkey, India and now Europe.

Following its departure from Latin America, eExtra has slowly alienated its lineup from other channels viewed on DStv. It usually offers between 6-8 primetime shows which is more than what any of its other competitors offer on the platform e.g. Telemundo. 

Since 2022, eMedia Investments had been going through a carriage dispute with MultiChoice for eExtra alongside eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz. These channels have gone under numerous extensions with the final ending by July 2024.

eExtra's purge from DStv would not only lead to less programming but also a decline in revenue and possible content cuts. Although this channel would remain on Openview and in a separate agreement with Starsat consumption will decline.

Out of all 4 channels, eExtra has the least amount of repeats and also the most amount of local airtime. It's third party offering consists of purged offerings from thee DStv platform such as Timeless Dizi Channel (Turkey), tvN (Asia) and Eurochannel (Europe).

Timeless Dizi Channel was a general entertainment channel home to various content produced in Turkey. MultiChoice opted to only make it a pop-up channel and unlike most brands on the list several content had resurfaced on DStv.

The brand is known for shows like Kind Van Die Noodlot (Asla Vazgeçmem), Voëlvry (Kuzgun) and Kurt En Shura (Kurt Ve Shura).

tvN was also added as a pop-up channel by March 2021 and MultiChoice opted not to make it permanent. Since then, CJ ENM has been trying to revive the channel on another platform but was only successful in select shows on eMedia Investments' linear channels.

The brand is known for shows like Cheese In The Trap, Tails Of The Nine Tailed and Tomorrow With You.

Eurochannel was more of an underrated channel offering short form content various European countries including Germany, Denmark, Romania and Poland. This channel was exclusive to DStv Stream by 2015 and unlike Ginx eSports TV wasn't carried full-time.

The brand is known for shows like Soos Nag En Dag (Kukačky) and Sommerdahl Moorde (Dan

Sommerdahl - Todliche Idylle).