Canal+ Inks New Agreement With Warner Bros. Discovery For It's Operations In Europe And That Of MultiChoice In Africa

MultiChoice owner Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery have announced that they have signed a multi-year, multi-territory agreement.

“This expanded agreement covers both the distribution of HBO Max and the renewal of several Warner Bros. Discovery thematic channels across numerous regions in Africa and Europe,” Canal+ stated.

This resolves the uncertainty over 12 DStv channels that would have gone dark at midnight, had Canal+ not secured a renewed channel carriage agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Home Box Office (HBO), a longtime partner of MultiChoice and the inspiration for the original M-Net channel, is part of Warner Bros. Streaming.

HBO is home to hit franchises and shows such as Game of Thrones, Band of Brothers, The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Veep, Six Feet Under, True Blood, and The Last of Us.

Warner Bros. Discovery also owns DC Comics, the film rights to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and New Line Cinema, which is known for its Lord of the Rings movies.

The company is currently in acquisition talks with Netflix and Paramount Skydance, with Bloomberg reporting Tuesday night that Warner Bros. is expected to reject Paramount’s offer next week.

Amid the trillion-rand corporate action, Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery were negotiating an agreement to replace one it had with MultiChoice, which expires at midnight.

Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery said their new agreement marked a major milestone in the development of their collaboration on an international scale.

“It builds on the landmark agreements concluded in France in 2024 — including the renewal of the exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. Pictures films just six months after their theatrical release in France.”

The deal also includes the integration of HBO Max within select Canal+ group offers, with the renewal of the distribution agreement for 22 thematic channels and 4 free-to-air channels.

Canal+ confirmed that the agreement includes the renewal of the distribution of 12 Warner Bros. Discovery thematic channels across MultiChoice Group territories, with some offered exclusively.

The channels concerned are:

• CNN International and Cartoon Network — exclusively in South Africa, and non-exclusively in other territories.

• Cartoon Network Porto — exclusively in Angola and Mozambique, and non-exclusively in other territories.

• Cartoonito, Cartoonito Porto, Discovery Channel, Discovery Family, Real Time, ID, TLC, HGTV, Travel, TNT Africa, Food Network — non-exclusive.

“This agreement enables Canal+ group to strengthen its entertainment, kids, news, and documentary channel offering in African markets,” it said.

Canal+ said its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery is also being extended and strengthened in Europe through several strategic renewals and expansions. These include:

• Renewal of Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and CNN International in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

• Renewal of Warner TV in the Czech Republic.

• Renewal of HBO Max, HBO, and Cinemax in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

• Expansion of HBO Max distribution via Canal+ to two new key territories: Belgium, and Austria.

“This agreement enhances access for Canal+ group subscribers to Warner Bros. Discovery’s iconic content via HBO Max and select channels,” it said.

“The access includes premium series and films that contribute to the studio’s international reach.”

Channel Premiere: Sout Van Die Aarde Coming To eExtra This January

eExtra, a general entertainment channel offering telenovelas from Turkey, India and Asia will air a brand new series, Sout Van Die Aarde. Berk Atan and Gülsim Ali play the leading roles in this comedy drama.

Synopsis for Sout Van Die Aarde 

The story follows three cousins—Taner, Ramazan, and Veysel—who have been inseparable since childhood. Despite limited resources, they are self-taught inventors who spend their lives trying to build a unique airplane.

In Gedelli, there is a belief that whenever a lover's heart is broken or someone suffers from unrequited love, a rock rolls down and falls from the Gönül Dağı (Mountain of Hearts).

The emotional core of the series begins with Taner's enduring love for his childhood sweetheart, Dilek. After years apart, Dilek returns to Gedelli as a geologist, leading to an unexpected reunion. 

Sout Van Die Aarde will air on daily at 18:30 from Monday 19 January with Kelders Van Geheime moving to 19:30. As e.tv adjusts its primetime schedule, Kelders Van Geheime will no longer have simultaneous broadcasts on eExtra.

Kanaalpremière: Sout Van Die Aarde Kom Hierdie Januarie Na eExtra

eExtra, 'n algemene vermaaklikheidskanaal wat telenovelas uit Turkye, Indië en Asië aanbied, sal 'n splinternuwe reeks, Sout Van Die Aarde, uitsaai. Berk Atan en Gülsim Ali speel die hoofrolle in hierdie komediedrama.

Sinopsis vir Sout Van Die Aarde

Die storie volg drie neefs – Taner, Ramazan en Veysel – wat sedert hul kinderjare onafskeidbaar is. Ten spyte van beperkte hulpbronne, is hulle selfopgeleide uitvinders wat hul lewens spandeer om 'n unieke vliegtuig te bou.

In Gedelli is daar 'n oortuiging dat wanneer 'n geliefde se hart gebreek is of iemand aan onbeantwoorde liefde ly, 'n rots afrol en van die Gönül Dağı (Berg van Harte) val.

Die emosionele kern van die reeks begin met Taner se blywende liefde vir sy jeugliefde, Dilek. Na jare se afsondering keer Dilek terug na Gedelli as 'n geoloog, wat lei tot 'n onverwagte hereniging.

Suid Van Die Aarde sal daagliks om 18:30 vanaf Maandag 19 Januarie uitgesaai word, met Kelders Van Geheime wat na 19:30 skuif. Aangesien e.tv sy spitstydskedule aanpas, sal Kelders Van Geheime nie meer gelyktydige uitsendings op eExtra hê nie.

Channel Closure: History Channel Will Stop Airing In Turkey From 31 December 2025 Alongside CBS Reality In Romania

According to insiders, History Channel will be bowing out in Turkey by the end of 2025. The reason for its termination is unknown but this happens to be the Pan European feed that is seen on DStv across Africa.

This comes after reports had surfaced that Disney and Hearst Corporation that formed A+E Global Media were looking to sell the company with Starz eyed out as a potential buyer. We assume with a sale more restructuring will be underway for its international operations.

Also joining History Channel by 31 December 2025 will be CBS Justice in Africa alongside CBS Reality with Poland and recently Romania announced for closures of the brand.

Following Paramount's acquisition by Skydance, the company has been streamlining it's operations affecting its joint venture with AMC Networks International. This even includes MTV's music channels and BET's operations in France and Africa.

As mentioned, in some of these markets CBS Reality and Paramount's fleet of channels are being replaced. Unlike MultiChoice, that could be losing 16 channels by the end of December part of which has to do with its dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Major Shakeup: eExtra Airs Rebroadcasts Of Uzozisola: Regrets, Removes Scandal, House Of Zwide And More Shows From The Lineup

During the month, e.tv reported that they would be making changes to their primetime schedule by grouping shows like Kelders Van Geheime with House Of Zwide and the now axed Scandal!. They also further isolated e.tv News and Uzozisola: Regrets.

From 1st January, eExtra will be making some adjustments to its weekday morning schedule which mainly considered of old shows and reruns to primetime. This included House Of Zwide, Scandal!, Isitha: The Enemy and Smoke & Mirrors that is now axed.

Uzozisola: Regrets will broadcast daily in Smoke & Mirror's timeslot from 09:35 which is probably their way of making up for moving the Bollywood drama to late nights at 09:30 from 19 January.

Instead of airing IThemba Alibulali perhaps eExtra removed House Of Zwide in favour of eKasi: Our Stories in the 10:00 timeslot. This will be followed by Ashes To Ashes and Gold Diggers at 11:00 and 11:30 respectively all of which here are reruns.

Maybe this is eMedia's way of trying to give eExtra some uniqueness and open the gap to prioritise it's existing shows.

Kuma: The Other Wife, a primetime show is getting burnt off at 12:50 while as retaining its late night slot 23:00. For some odd reason Viola will be taking up its afternoon timeslot at 14:40.

The only sensible thing was moving Naagin to 12:00 as that is a rerun but with eExtra being home to these shows it's likely to anger viewers as supernatural shows often get the most attention.

Viola and eKasi: Our Stories, why do they exist? I mean eExtra would have been able to accommodate Kuma: The Other Wife and Naagin with the respect they deserve. Now you have a show that will get even less viewers and another that will barely get much.

eExtra's simultaneous broadcasts with e.tv for Yosef and Kelders Van Geheime are still intact during this period at least. But Yosef and Chrysalis can also be seen at 13:50 and 15:40 respectively.

To keep up, below is schedule for the channel during this period:

09:30 Uzozisola - Regrets

10:00 eKasi: Our Stories

11:00 Ashes To Ashes

11:30 Gold Diggers

12:00 Naagin

12:50 The Other Wife

13:50 Yosef

14:40 Viola

15:40 Chrysalis

Dark Days Could Be Lurking For TNT Africa

As advised, MultiChoice will be shuttering Warner Bros. Discovery's 12 channels on the DStv platform due to pricing problems. Channels like Food Network qnd Discovery Family will cease to exist in Africa as MultiChoice was the only provider for them.

Another channel that could be joining Food Network and the other channels in a not so distant future would be TNT.

TNT is ranked as the #1 international movie channel in Africa offering action based films and various content from wrestling promotion AEW. It was only last year when StarTimes opted to discontinue carriage of the channel for similar reasons.

Unlike Cartoon Network and a fleet of channels that are packaged on StarTimes, Zuku TV and Azam TV. The only other means of viewing TNT would be through Canal+ Afrique's operations in Rwanda.

The problem part, Canal+ Afrique and MultiChoice are owned by the same company meaning TNT Africa's days in the market could be numbered. It's less likely to be revived on another platform as StarTimes and the latter already have alternatives in place.

Unlike Cartoon Network and TLC where the content can't simply be replaced with an alternative. Outside of AEW, TNT uses the same catalogue as ST Movies, Studio Universal and M-Net Movies.

How Azam TV And Canal+ Afrique In Rwanda Are Impacted By DStv's Closure Of Cartoon Network And Cartoonito?

With a few days left in 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery and MultiChoice are set to close 12 channels on DStv and GOtv platforms across Africa by 31 December. Talks between the two have stalled due to pricing and might continue into 2026.

This means DStv consumers will be losing out on shows like Teen Titans GO!, Bugs Bunny Builders and Mr. Bean. Whatever alternatives MultiChoice's new owners have in store is less likely to include these shows from Cartoon Network and Cartoonito.

Cartoon Network would be exiting DStv platform after 30 years serving as one of 15 channels alongside CNN and Travel Channel when DStv launched in the market.

As advised, the exit of Cartoon Network means the only other way consumers can view the brand would be through Azam TV which is located in East Africa and Canal+ Afrique in Rwanda.

The problem part is that majority of Cartoon Network and Cartoonito's consumers were on DStv meaning most of their revenue resided with MultiChoice. If that space is closed, Warner Bros. Discovery will most definitely scale back on its operations.

Cartoon Network had been dubbing Teen Titans GO! and The Wonderfully Weird Of Gumball to Zulu that could as well get the boot. They had produced local series like Woola for Cartoonito which too is at risk of cancellation.

MultiChoice's cancellation of these brands could impact Canal+ Rwanda's existing agreement seeing as they're both divisions of Canal+. Warner Bros. Discovery might not deem Africa as viable for these networks with only Azam TV.

If Warner Bros. Discovery were to charge more to Azam TV, they may follow the same strategy as MultiChoice and severe its ties.

This is why the new management at MultiChoice doesn't feel threatened by their possible exit as the only other means for Regular Show would be streaming. Compared to South Africa, there's a lot of constraints to that in other parts of Africa.

Four Channels Facing Bigger Risk Of Extinction Within MultiChoice And Warner Bros. Discovery Dispute

With only a few days left in 2025, MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery have yet to come into an agreement over the fate of its 12 channels. These include Discovery Channel, TLC, TNT, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, CNN, Travel Channel and HGTV.

If these channels were to go dark for instance, consumers in South Africa would have no other means of viewing them. As opposed to other markets with StarTimes, Zuku TV and Azam TV supplying some of these channels in a separate agreement.

For Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, CNN, TNT, TLC, Real Time and Cartoon Network and Cartoonito. With them being on other platforms within Africa means normal viewing is expected to resume once they go dark on DStv.

As opposed to Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel and Discovery Family that will have to see Warner Bros. Discovery reshuffle their portfolio and reschedule/delay shows. This is because MultiChoice was the only provider willing to bundle them despite the costs.

Most other providers rely on Discovery Channel and Real Time for the batch of shows on these channels including Ugliest House In America, Harry Potter: Wizards Of Baking and The Kitchen.

MultiChoice now under French management has been scaling back on costs with the cancellation of Philly's Games and World Darts Championship on SuperSport. It's likely that the ongoing talks with Warner Bros. Discovery will see their linear operations reduced.

Canal+ following its acquisition of MultiChoice had lost another million subscribers between March 2024 to March 2025 which is where part of their income reside. With fewer subscribers, MultiChoice won't be able to maintain the current DStv structure.

If these two parties do come to an agreement expect a streamlined portfolio which could as well result in the closure of Travel Channel and Discovery Family. In regards to the fate of Dead Files that may not be a priority if the viewership doesn't justify the means.