Canal+ and MultiChoice press play on R53 billion takeover deal

Stephen Grootes speaks to Duncan McLeod from TechCentral about Canal+ getting regulatory approval for its R53 billion takeover of MultiChoice.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below.

Canal+ has received regulatory approval from the South African Competition Tribunal for a takeover of Multichoice, in a deal worth R53 billion.

The France-based media giant's acquisition of Multichoice paves the way for the creation of Africa’s largest pay-TV and streaming powerhouse.

Canal+ was already the single largest shareholder in MultiChoice, with 45% ownership.

The deal is subject to a number of conditions, which includes the investment and support in historically disadvantaged persons, as well as SMME's in South Africa's film and television industry.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Duncan McLeod, editor at TechCentral says Multichoice is no longer a leader in the digital content space, like it was 10 years ago.

"Multichoice 10 years ago was in a vey different market, than in the market it's playing in today, and that of course started with the launch of Netflix. And we've seen other streamers come into the market, including Prime Video from Amazon, Disney +. These are big, global giants. And it doesnt have the market to itself anymore."

- Duncan McLeod, editor - TechCentral

"As broadband has proliferated, particularly fibre broadband and uncapped internet access, many consumers have looked at these alternatives and said, why am I spending so much money on DStv, when I can pick up one of these services instead?"

- Duncan McLeod, editor - TechCentral

"The state of the South African economy and the economies in which Multichoice operates across Africa is putting incredible pressure on them. They lost 1,2 million DStv subscribers over the last year or so..."

- Duncan McLeod, editor - TechCentral

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.