Can Africa's top pay-TV operator make a comeback?

MultiChoice’s new owner Canal+ SA is rolling out a R2 billion turnaround plan for the business.

Senior financial journalist at Moneyweb, Hilton Tarrant, says the money needs to be spent acquiring new subscribers.

"For the last three years the MultiChoice business overall, across Africa, has been losing an average of 1.6 million subscribers a year."

He explains that while the business experienced excellent growth from 2013 to 2023, various factors since then (including loadshedding) contributed to its decline.

Tarrant says the strategy to revitalise it is made up of four pillars.

"The first would obviously be content... they will also be simplifying and repricing their offers.

"They will also drop the price of equipment further, so decoders are likely to become even cheaper... expand distribution points, and then really drive efficiency across the business."

He says that while Canal+ SA claims it will continue to invest in local content, Showmax needs to be discontinued as it was financially unsustainable.

To listen to Hilton Tarrant in conversation with CapeTalk and 702's Africa Melane, use the audio player below: