Paramount Global Looking To Shutter Both BET And MTV Base Africa In Major Restructure

Paramount Global‘s Africa offices may close, local channels may be shuttered, and staffers’ roles could be impacted, company executives told employees in the region on Tuesday.

The company has been prioritizing investments in its growing streaming business and core global content as it navigates shifts in audience behavior and the macro-economic environment. As part of that, it is reviewing its international pay TV strategy and considering adjustments to its linear channel portfolio in international markets, with a focus on cable brands. Management has also signaled a focus on businesses and regions with the most opportunity for revenue growth.

Tuesday’s news comes as Paramount continues to wait for FCC approval of Skydance Media’s deal to acquire it. THR understands that Paramount has fewer than 100 employees in Africa between its offices in Johannesburg, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria.

“We are at a point in our journey where we are facing immense industry disruption,” Monde Twala and Craig Paterson, co-general managers of Paramount Africa, said in a staff memo obtained by THR. “Our team is not immune to potential changes as our organization evaluates its pay TV strategy and local channel footprint here in Africa.”

In June, Paramount unveiled further U.S. workforce cuts to the tune of 3.5 percent, following a 15 percent reduction last year. As of the end of 2024, Paramount Global had 18,600 employees worldwide. Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins said in a June memo that the focus was on U.S. headcount but the moves “may also result in some impacts to our workforce outside the U.S. over time.”

Twala and Paterson acknowledged in their staff memo: “Today was incredibly difficult. We want you to know your greatness is seen. We reach out with a heavy heart, but also with immense pride. Your dedication to excellence, creativity and passion for leveraging the power of our content have been the driving force behind our many accomplishments.”

They concluded: “We understand the coming weeks may be tough and feel unsettling. Through it all, please know your efforts are valued beyond measure.”

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe And Steven Universe Future Launches On Play Room

Later in the week, Play Room is set to allocate two new animated shows to the lineup the first He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe launched on Netflix in 2021. The second is a mini series Steven Universe Future which is based on the animated series Steven Universe from Cartoon Network.

Synopsis for He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe 

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a dazzling CG-animated series that reimagines the thrilling heroic adventures of the Guardians of Grayskull for this next generation of fans. It introduces an all-new He-Man for kids to call their own, one they can meet the very first time he holds aloft his magic sword and says, “By the Power of Grayskull, I have the Power!”

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, produced by Mattel Television™ and premieres on July 21 at 18:00 on Play Room, brings a fresh stylized take on the world of Eternia, designed to reflect the sensibilities and aspirations of today’s kids, while celebrating the evergreen core truth of Masters of the Universe: we all have the power to become the best version of ourselves.

Synopsis for Steven Universe Future 

In Steven Universe Future, after saving the universe, Steven is still at it, tying up every loose end. But as he runs out of other people’s problems to solve, he’ll finally have to face his own. Haunted by the past and lost in the present, Steven begins manifesting new, uncontrollable powers that the Crystal Gems have never seen from him before. What does it all mean, and what does Steven want for his future?

The series is created by Emmy and Annie Award-nominated writer Rebecca Sugar, and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. It premieres on July 21 at 15:00 on Play Room and not long ago, it was reported another spin-off is in development titled Steven Universe: Lars Of The Stars.

Recap: MultiChoice Showed Signs Vulnerability At First Hearing When Talking About Showmax

MultiChoice and Canal+ began talks with the Competition Tribunal on its first day of the hearing in which various topics were uncovered. But here's where things got more interesting:

Showmax, Africa's leading streaming service that was recently revamped in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal. From what we know, NBCUniversal owns a 30% stake which has helped Showmax bolster it's international portfolio and user interface.

MultiChoice was hoping to almost double DStv's subscriber numbers through Showmax in a few years and while they still haven't revealed subscriber numbers. Showmax on top of making a loss isn't living up to their expectation on subscriber count.

If it weren't for Canal+ (at least from what was implied), they wouldn't need outside help (NBCUniversal) to bolster Showmax with MultiChoice open to selling more shares in the streamer.

The interesting part was when they brought up Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. As some know, their consumer base exceeds 200 million subscribers for which MultiChoice brought up its dismal number of 14.5 million DStv subscribers.

MultiChoice had implied that DStv fees could have been a lot lower if they had reached such magnitude with their subscribers. Even going as far comparing figures with the streamer, for every Shaka iLembe that was launched MultiChoice invested R250,000 while Netflix with Blood And Water invested R2 million.

For every Shaka iLembe that was added to Showmax, Netflix could 

Canal+'s MultiChoice Presents Very Little Competition Concerns, Says Tribunal

The Competition Competition said on Thursday that the planned acquisition of MultiChoice Group (MCG) by the French television powerhouse Canal+ has revealed minimal overlaps between the two entities, given their respective market sizes.

However, the proposed merger will necessitate a fundamental restructuring to separate the licensed broadcasting unit, which will transition into a standalone entity named LicenseCo.

MultiChoice has been struggling to retain subscribers for its pay television platform, DStv, ven as it seeks to expand its digital footprint through investments in online streaming service Showmax. 

The acquisition by Canal+ is positioned as a revitalising force for MultiChoice, pending final approvals from regulatory bodies and competition authorities.

The Tribunal on Thursday heard from the Competition Commission that there were overlaps between MultiChoice and Canal+. These overlaps include included horizontal and vertical considerations.

During the proceedings at the Tribunal, both companies have horizontal overlaps as they both supply video content for broadcasting purposes. 

It was the Competition Commission’s findings that MultiChoice acquires and aggregate broadcasting content across sports and movies under its subsidiaries M-Net and SuperSport while Canal+ also has similar offerings although at a small scale.

“Vertically, Canal+ currently provides content to LicenseCo, which is part of MCG while its affiliated entity, Havas Media, purchases advertising space from MCG’s sales house, Digital Media Sales (DMS),” said Ndivhuwo Moleya, senior analyst for mergers and acquisitions at the Competition Commission.

The Commission said these links presented potential vertical overlaps in content and advertising supply chains, but it deemed them as insignificant.

“Looking at the number of channels that Canal+ supplies, in particular on the DStv platform, we understand it's not more than three. The upshot of that is that from a horizontal perspective, (the overlap) is very small because of the smallness of the content that Canal+ provides downstream,” said Moleya.

According to the Competition Commission, the broader content market includes numerous global suppliers, indicating low risk of anti-competitive effects.

Moreover, overlaps within the upstream advertising market, regarding the the sale of advertising slots on broadcast platforms and the downstream advertising market involving agencies such as Havas Media that purchase advertising on behalf of clients, were also determined to be less significant.

In arriving at the determination, regulators adopted a “worst-case scenario” to ensure all potential competition concerns were examined.

The merger between MCG and Canal+ will be subject to a resutructuring exercise to ring-fence MultiChoice’s licensed broadcasting entity, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd. This unit will be hived off into a standalone company, LicenseCo, in line with local regulatory requirements.

After settlement of the merger, the combined group will have no interest or control in LicenseCo. However, details of the this carve-out structure for LicenseCo remain confidential.

LicenceCo will be majority-owned by previously disadvantaged and black economic empowerment companies, with MCG holding a 49% interest. 

Canal+ has, however, previously said that it was still engaging with Phuthuma Nathi, which has been earmarked to hold a 27% interest in LicenceCo, although the board has already given its support for the transaction.

Black-owned and managed companies, Identity Partners Itai Consortium owned by Sipho Maseko And Sonja De Bruyn, and Afrifund Consortium have also been roped into LicenceCo, bringing “highly experienced leaders” with “great commercial and industry” knowledge.

“This seems a clever way to get around foreign ownership rules assuming they've had at least informal approval from Independent Communications Authority of SA (or discussions) and now deal can go ahead,” market analyst Simon Brown previously told Business Report.

The CEO of Canal+, Maxime Saada, said earlier this year that the acquisition of MultiChoice was an “opportunity to create a unique global media company, with a strong presence across Africa with the scale, expertise, and creativity to compete and partner with the largest players” within the media and entertainment sectors.

The article was originally published by IOL

Canal+'s MultiChoice Offers To Invest An Additional R2 Billion Within The Merger Deal

Canal+ and MultiChoice have committed an additional R2 billion to public interest initiatives in South Africa, as part of a growing list of undertakings tied to their proposed R30 billion deal.

The funds cater for commitments that include increased support for local content production, supplier development, and the establishment of a university to develop media and broadcasting talent.

The merger, if finalised, would create a media giant with a footprint across Africa and a combined subscriber base of 41 million.

French media group Canal+ currently owns a significant stake in MultiChoice and last year offered to buy out the remaining shares, valuing the company at R55 billion. MultiChoice’s current market capitalisation is R51 billion.

Heather Irvine, acting on behalf of Canal+, confirmed that the group’s corporate and social investment offer had been formalised. “The proposed contribution towards corporate and social investment is now a firm number,” said Irvine.

Printing and Imaging

Canal+, MultiChoice sweeten merger deal with R2bn pledge

Nicola Mawson

By Nicola Mawson

Johannesburg, 18 Jul 2025

MultiChoice headquarters in Randburg, Johannesburg.

MultiChoice headquarters in Randburg, Johannesburg.

Canal+ and MultiChoice have committed an additional R2 billion to public interest initiatives in South Africa, as part of a growing list of undertakings tied to their proposed R30 billion deal.

The funds cater for commitments that include increased support for local content production, supplier development, and the establishment of a university to develop media and broadcasting talent.

The merger, if finalised, would create a media giant with a footprint across Africa and a combined subscriber base of 41 million.

French media group Canal+ currently owns a significant stake in MultiChoice and last year offered to buy out the remaining shares, valuing the company at R55 billion. MultiChoice’s current market capitalisation is R51 billion.

Heather Irvine, acting on behalf of Canal+, confirmed that the group’s corporate and social investment offer had been formalised. “The proposed contribution towards corporate and social investment is now a firm number,” said Irvine.

See also

MultiChoice, Canal+ merger deal passes CompCom hurdle

MultiChoice to restructure after Canal+ takeover deal

“The DTIC [Department of Trade, Industry and Competition] has agreed that is an appropriate commitment for us to make.”

Irvine noted that Canal+ has increased its overall public interest commitment by R2 billion, taking the three-year total from R26 billion to R28 billion. This package spans areas such as local content, news diversity, and support for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), benchmarked against MultiChoice’s historical spend.

In its 2025 financial year, MultiChoice reported R12.8 billion in local procurement, of which R3.9 billion was directed to SMMEs. The parties indicated that spending on historically disadvantaged producers (HDPs) would be maintained, although they cautioned against making this a binding condition due to the fast-evolving nature of the industry.

MultiChoice general manager of regulatory affairs Lara Kantor said regulatory frameworks require transparency in the commissioning of programming, and how MultiChoice deals with unsolicited scripts is detailed on its website.

“So, it just gives independent producers a lay of the land. And then it also requires that we report against that protocol within the year, so that we say, these are how many producers we engaged with over the last year,” Kantor explained. She added that this would include HDPs.

Kantor also outlined MultiChoice’s framework for working with independent producers, which includes aspects such as funding models and intellectual property ownership depending on which company made which contribution.

David Mignot, CEO of Canal+ Africa, said the French broadcaster has similar frameworks in place across its operations in 25 African countries. However, he cautioned against regulating only one party in a highly-competitive sector. This type of arrangement is a commercial one, he said, adding that imposing such conditions solely on the merged entity could “create difficulties and potentially risks creating an unlevel playing field”.

On Thursday, MultiChoice warned that traditional broadcasters face increasing threats from streaming services, social media and piracy.

In a presentation, it noted it was battling financially due to increasing threats from streaming services, social media and piracy. The group also pointed to local challenges, such as rising personal indebtedness and frequent power outages. This led to a 60% drop in trading profit over the past two years and a steady decline in subscriber numbers.

“MultiChoice does not currently have the scale needed to succeed in the new environment,” it said. The company sees the merger as essential to building “a global media company with 41 million subscribers”. It argues that “an African media champion will provide numerous benefits to South Africa”.

In May, the Competition Commission recommended that the merger proceed, subject to several conditions. These include employment guarantees, supplier development commitments, support for HDPs and worker shareholding in MultiChoice units Orbicom and LicenceCo, maintaining operations in South Africa, and promoting diversity in news content.

The merged entity will report on its compliance with the conditions for at least three years. Both companies have agreed to a three-year moratorium on retrenchments.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada welcomed the regulator’s conditional approval at the time, calling it a “major step forward in our ambition to create a global media and entertainment company with Africa at its heart”. He reaffirmed Canal+’s commitment to investing in local content and supporting South Africa’s creative and sports ecosystems.

The article was originally published by ITWeb