Canal+ released its nine-month trading update today, covering the period to 30 September 2026. It is the French media group’s third set of financial results since it took control of MultiChoice in September 2025, after its full-year 2025 results in March and its first-half results in July, both of which I covered.
In March, Canal+ said MultiChoice was too complicated and too expensive for many potential subscribers. It had 17 subscription price points, up to five decoder models, and an entry cost about three times that in Canal+’s French-speaking African markets. The answer was a €100 million “Boost Plan”: fewer offers, subsidised equipment, more points of sale and more than 1,000 extra sales staff.
That simplification has now reached subscribers. In September, Canal+ launched what it calls a “new, simplified value proposition” in South Africa, “providing subscribers with more content, greater choice, and better value for the same price.” The new offers will roll out across English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa over the coming months.
In the same month, on 16 September, four DStv channels closed in South Africa: M-Net Movies 1, kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Music and Mzansi Bioskop, the channel for South African films in local languages.
MultiChoice’s numbers. In March, management said MultiChoice’s revenue would keep falling in 2026, but more slowly. Over the nine months, it fell 3.0% on lower subscription revenue in South Africa; revenue rose in most of MultiChoice’s other English-speaking countries. On the results call, chief executive Maxime Saada said new distribution partnerships for MultiChoice are coming, and that their impact will not show until 2028.
French-speaking Africa and fibre. Canal+ reported 9.7 million subscribers in French-speaking Africa at the end of 2025, and in July said it had added more than a million there over 12 months, helped by the Africa Cup of Nations. The earnings update says revenue in French-speaking Africa “performed well” on subscriber growth, but gives no subscriber count. In July, Canal+ reported 22.6 million subscribers across Africa and Asia; now it says the base “normalised” after the World Cup boost of the first half. On the call, chief financial officer Amandine Ferré said Africa’s performance had been boosted by the group’s telecom business. Canal+ Telecom Africa, which began laying fibre in Ibadan, Nigeria, this summer, grew revenue at a double-digit rate.
Sport. Canal+ now has exclusive rights to all UEFA men’s club competitions, including the Champions League, in more than 40 African countries for 2027–2031. It calls this its first major sports rights deal covering all its African markets. It also has rights across Africa to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifiers. These follow the South African Premier Soccer League and Rugby World Cup rights reported in July.
Film and series. As in their March and July earnings calls, this trading update gives no figures or plans for African film and series commissioning, licensing or acquisitions. Two questions from March remain unanswered: what post-Showmax commissioning looks like for English-speaking Africa (outside South Africa), and when the Canal+ app rolls out across the language bloc. The nine-month trading update describes an upgraded Canal+ App with AI-powered search, unveiled this month. Ferré said December is Africa’s main sales season and that content spending may shift to win subscribers in October–December.
What to watch next. On 28 October, Canal+, MultiChoice, and Studiocanal will present their commissioning priorities and pitching procedures to African producers at MIP Africa, the film and TV market in Cape Town (28–30 October). The speakers are Nomsa Philiso, who runs content at Canal+ Africa; Nicola van Niekerk, who runs content and channels in South Africa; Busola Tejumola, who covers Nigeria and Portuguese-speaking markets; and Isabelle Pain, who runs film and TV acquisitions at Studiocanal. Producers shortlisted under two commissioning calls, one for premium drama series and one for entertainment and reality formats, will pitch live at the market.
Aside worth knowing. On 20 October, Canal+ opened Mancala Studios in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: three sets for entertainment shows, talk shows, magazine programmes, game shows, cultural programmes and live events, with capacity for more than 1,000 hours of programmes a year. The studios will make programmes for Canal+ channels and are open to outside producers, broadcasters and companies. Canal+ is working with two Ivorian schools, ISTC Polytechnique and INSAAC, on training and internships.
Canal+ reports full-year results on 4 March 2027.