Canal+ Is Looking For Another BEE Partner To Finalize Acquisition Of MultiChoice

Canal+ is currently finalizing a new structure after obtaining a 45% stake of MultiChoice making them one of company's largest shareholders. After their initial bid of R29 billion was turned down earlier in the year the French broadcaster had up it's bid to R32 billion with an interim board deeming it "fair and reasonable".

Canal+ intends to keep MultiChoice listed in the JSE meaning they're not attempting a complete takeover and it was reported earlier in the year that Patrice Moshepe is also in the running to help finalize this acquisition. According to Africa Intelligence, the French broadcaster is looking for another business partner to finalize this acquisition.

This does lead some to wonder how much of a stake Patrice Moshepe is willing to invest in MultiChoice if some were to guess probably around 15%-30% based on the company's financial performance they are put in a position where they can declare bankruptcy and Canal+ is the only thing giving those shares value.

Canal+ is trying to comply with local legislation by capping their rights to DStv and Showmax at 20% and with the help of Patrice Moshepe they have indirect influence over the daily operations of those services. If Patrice Moshepe is investing a small stake he probably sees the same thing former shareholders Public sees in MultiChoice - a decline in value.

For years on end, several shareholders at MultiChoice were throwing away their shares looking to take their money elsewhere and most of these shares likely went under French hands. Their remaining partners Allan Gray and The Vanguard Group have a combined total of 7% with former partner Public Investment Corporation sitting at 11%.

One can only assume that when the acquisition is complete, Canal+ will look at cutting back at some of these ventures as MultiChoice is sitting with 10 and these include DStv, GOtv, Showmax, SuperSport and M-Net. So if they were looking to close/divest in something then it would have to be either Namola, Irdeto, BetKing.

Why Impact Wrestling (Now TNA Impact!) Failed On Openview?

After losing rights to WWE a few years ago, eMedia Investments opted to rather put their focus in their remaining lineup which ranged from international movies and series to local content. By 2021, they made a strategic move by supplementing this with Impact Wrestling (now TNA) after SuperSport opted to discontinue carriage of the wrestling promotion from their platforms.

The news of TNA's inclusion on e.tv wasn't met with the best responses from wrestling and sporting fans with some making comparisons to rival WWE. This showed as TNA failed to chart in e.tv's top 20 watched shows likely due to the poor scheduling choices another being competition from both SABC 1 and SuperSport weirdly enough only of the two offered wrestling on the same day as TNA.

If there's another thing, eMedia Investments handled poorly when it comes to TNA was how they'd distribute this content while WWE's flagship shows and PPVs were all allocated on e.tv with eExtra serving as a catch-up platform. With TNA, most of its catalogue was burnt off to Openview while the flagship show was in an on/off relationship on e.tv before moving to Openview exclusively.

If anyone had to guess it's possible that TNA's viewership was rather low on e.tv and they were changing its timeslot consistently in the hopes to attract more viewers but that proved to be challenging. When they decided 4pm would be its permanent timeslot it's likely the viewership continued to plummet that it led to them burning what little was left.

StarTimes eventually snatched those rights from eMedia Investments for their consumers in the African market (including South Africa) which would give TNA's extensive lineup of content more exposure compared to when it was on Openview. 

Now the problems pertaining to TNA have nothing to do with the wrestling promotion as it is one of those top 10 wrestling promotions in the world but rather eMedia Investments. WWE had been gone for so long and viewers who couldn't afford to get DStv were forced to move on and TNA was viewed as the enemy to e.tv's extensive history with WWE.

Viewers weren't accustomed to change and ignoring it was the only way they knew this problem would fade away and eMedia Investments wasn't sports oriented like the SABC so you could say that also played a factor. Again these consumers weren't accustomed to alternative methods this is what happened when Bleach was switched for Yu-Gi-Oh on SABC 2.

Before Naruto and Bleach, SABC once held to Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh but this part of their lineup was discarded for a decade with one being picked up by e.tv so when this format was revived it received very little notice from fans. Dragon Ball was able to rank in the top 10 watched shows on SABC 2 yet Yu-Gi-Oh an old placement long forgotten by fans couldn't even chart in the top 20.

October 2024 On Food Network, Travel Channel And Discovery Family Across Africa | Channel Premieres Including Selena + Restaurant And The Haunted Museum | Channel Specials For Kids Baking Championships | More

Food Network

Selena + Restaurant S1

BRAND NEW

After a four-year culinary crash course with some of

the world's top chefs in her home kitchen, Selena

Gomez is ready to raise the stakes! She heads out to

work in a string of Los Angeles' hottest restaurants,

where she'll be put through her paces by the best in

the business.

First TX: 31 October

TX Day: Thursday

TX Time: 17:00

Last TX: 14 November

Kids Halloween Baking Championship

SPECIAL

Four fan favorites from Kids Baking Championship are back to battle in two frightful challenges. They must create something sweet and scary as well as a hybrid monster dessert. Only one will take home the title of champion and $10,000.

First TX: 31 October

TX Day: Thursday

TX Time: 20:05

Last TX: 31 October

Kids Baking Championship

SEASONAL SPECIALS

First TX: 31 October

TX Day: Thursday

Last TX: 31 October

KBC: Bloodcurdling Bakes

Four fan-favorite kid bakers create cemetery fault line cakes inspired by classic candy bars for a chance to win a $10,000 prize package.

TX Time: 21:00

KBC: Sweets-Giving

Four kid bakers celebrate Turkey Day by creating Thanksgiving buttercream boards for a chance to take home a bountiful $10,000 prize package!

TX Time: 21:55

KBC: Trick or Eat

Four fan-favorite kid bakers return to cook up

Halloween-themed pies in hopes of taking home a $10,000 prize package!

TX Time: 22:45

FEAST FROM THE EAST WEEKEND

STUNT / NEW SHOWS

Star Vs. Food: Malaysia S1 & S2

Each episode a Malaysian celebrity learns to cook with some of the most well-known restaurant chefs for their private dinner parties their friends or family.

First TX: 26 October / Last TX: 12 November

First TX: 7 September

TX Day: Saturday - Sunday

TX Time: 14:25

Last TX: 28 December

Returning shows including Halloween Cookie

Challenge S2 which premieres 4 October at 16:05, Outrageous Pumpkins S4 which premieres 6 October at 16:05, Chopped S58 which Premieres 9 October at 16:05 and Outchef'd S3 which premieres 22 October at 17:00.

Travel Channel SA

Jack Osbourne's Night Of Terror S1

Brand New

Embark on a night of terror unlike any other with paranormal investigator Jack Osbourne as he explores the most spinechilling destinations across America with his famous family and closest celebrity friends.

First TX: 24 October

TX Day: Thursday

TX Time: 10:05

Last TX: 21November

Travel Channel EMEA

The Haunted Museum S1

Brand New

Paranormal investigator and host of Ghost Adventures Zak Bagans joins forces with filmmaker Eli Roth, the modern master of horror, to present a terrifying film anthology inspired by pieces found in

Zak’s personal collection of haunted artifacts.

First TX: 4 October

TX Day: Friday

TX Time: 21:00

Last TX: 8 November

Discovery Family 

Goblin Works Garage S1 & S2

NEW TO CHANNEL

Goblin Works Garage is Jimmy de Ville, Ant Partridge and Helen Stanley. Together they create stunning custom cars and bikes. They're on a mission to bring Goblin, a oncegreat British engineering company, back to life.

First TX: 1 October

TX Day: Weekdays

TX Time: 16:45

Last TX: 25 October

Returning shows including Kindig Customs S2 which premieres 7 October at 15:50.

Weekly Roundups #2: StudioCanal Launches A Brand New Production Company, WWE SmackDown Moving Forward To Become A 3 Hour Show In 2025 And More

• Tito Jackson has passed away at the age of 70

Tito is the third oldest Jackson child in the famous Jackson family, which spawned global icons Michael and Janet Jackson. Tito and his younger brother Michael were part of the legendary Motown R&B group the Jackson 5, which included in addition to them fellow brothers Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie Jackson. 

• Op Dun Ys to debut on eExtra this October

Based on the series Doctor Foster, Asya lives a peaceful and happy life in Tekirdağ with her husband Volkan and their son Ali. This situation changes when she learns that her husband has been having an affair with a young woman named Derin for two years.

• Long-delayed live-action Ben 10 film from Warner Bros. Studios has been scrapped 

• This Is Fate returns with a new season on Zee World with a rebroadcast of Twist Of Fate on eExtra

• Ringside Rebel joins Zee World's lineup for consumers in Southern Africa 

• South African actor Sello Motloung dead at 53

In a statement, his family says "We are devastated to inform you of the sudden passing of Ntate Sello Motloung on Sunday 15 September. His family is in shock and we ask that you give them space at this time".

• South African actor Darlington Michaels dead at 78

Best known for his role as the flamboyant gangster Georgie "Papa G" Zamdela on the long-running soap opera Isidingo, Michaels was a veteran performer whose career spanned several decades across theatre, film, and television.

• Canal+ launches a new production company, StudioCanal Kids & Family Ltd.

• CAKE saves Kitty Is Not A Cat and RBUK production company Jetpack Distribution from liquidation 

Acquiring Jetpack’s distribution catalogue essentially doubled the volume of content that CAKE is able to offer to clients, and Galton estimates the company now has roughly 3,200 half hours on hand. Jetpack was the distributor for shows such as Clangers (104 x 11 minutes), Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! (104 x 11 minutes) and Kitty is not a Cat (130 x 11 minutes).

• WWE SmackDown moving to 3 hours ahead of Raw's debut on Netflix in 2025

StarSat's Subscriber Numbers In South Africa Likely Revealed

StarSat has currently entered a broadcasting dispute with ICASA after they were ordered to shut down their services in Africa during the week but still continued to operate. This matter was taken to the Gauteng High Court but had since been dismissed with a new case to address the the whole matter between both parties is still ongoing.

After launching as TopTV in 2008 by On Digital Media as a rival to MultiChoice's DStv, with its own lineup of premium entertainment and sports. They accumulated a chunk of debt and were on the brink of bankruptcy received several bids from a MultiChoice funded company, Zuku TV with their successful bidder being StarTimes.

Following the acquisition, StarSat was embroiled in controversy with the inclusion of pornography that led to several legal disputes with The Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa), Cause for Justice and Doctors for Life leading to this content to get taken off from airwaves only to be broadcast illegally and get taken off again.

At the time Top TV was broadcast the platform was said to have accumulated around 200,000 subscribers but having the possible closure, last minute bid by StarTimes and porn scandal this was reduced to 160,000 subscribers by 2013. Since then the Chinese broadcaster remained silent on its consumer numbers and rather reported their African base as a whole. 

MultiChoice continues to dominate the African landscape with around 24 million subscribers with StarTimes coming in second with roughly 13-15 million subscribers.

Through a short statement we get to see the current state of its services in South Africa 

Beyond economic growth, ICASA is also committed to ensuring the dissemination of information, entertainment, and education to the public. StarSat plays a key role in this, providing quality content to over 500,000 subscribers at affordable rates. Its service offers a diverse range of programming that supports the informational and entertainment needs of South Africans.

Let's remember, Openview was launched several years later and has more subscribers than StarSat amounting to 3 million which is almost half of MultiChoice SA's business which is 7 million. Although StarSat didn't give an accurate number this "over" thing has been used by DStv when listing the bouquet of entertainment for each package.

If anything, StarSat is probably sitting with 501,000-550,000 consumers in South Africa alone so they're lagging around the same corridor at governments struggling STBs which had its offering reach 400,000 homes by 2020. I think the big question now is how many consumers had they been gaining or if there was any growth in recent years.

When MultiChoice and eMedia Investments dumped the now defunct Glow TV from their platforms there were rumours swirling around that StarSat's consumer numbers were very low and most of the income accumulated by Glow TV resided with Openview.

These numbers sort of prove this theory just imagine how many channels StarSat has under their umbrella while brands like CNN and National Geographic are lucky enough to be viewed in other parts of Africa and through DStv. Local channels like Rising Sun TV and One Freestate Televisual probably have around 2000+ viewers and don't generate as much income.

The issue with StarSat to be honest has barely much to do with DStv I mean Openview launched years after them and still got more subscribers despite charging no monthly fees. If anything the issue would have to be how they position themselves within the market which is very dismal if not almost non existent.

I mean with DStv and Openview these can be found at major retailers like Makro, Game and PEP yet StarSat has no presence in those retailers. Then there's ad space, despite having an Openview at their grasp eMedia Investments even SABC still market DStv yet there's been no presence of StarSat in these endeavours.