Here’s a simple idea for the new bosses at Canal+: sometimes, the smartest way to win is to make your world less complicated.
The French media giant has just bought MultiChoice, and with it, control of Africa’s pay-TV landscape.
But the highly publicised purchase comes with a problem; a needless, self-inflicted one.
Buried inside this deal are two streaming services – DStv Stream and Showmax – essentially competing for the same customers.
This isn’t a strategic move; it’s a classic case of what economists call inefficiency.
Think of it like owning two bakeries on the same street, selling similar bread to the same people.
Such an arrangement does not mean your bakeries are dominating the market; it simply means both bakeries are vying for the same customers and duplicate costs.
The solution is staring Canal+ executives in the face.
Canal+ should sell Multichoice’s 70% stake in Showmax to its minority partner, Comcast, and focus everything on winning with DStv Stream.
To keep the status quo would be self-cannibalism.
Right now, viewer loyalty and spend may very well be split between Showmax and DStv Stream.
Multichoice is funding both sides of a “civil war” and, in the process, confusing the very audience it needs to capture.
Other global giants like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video are single-mindedly pushing hard to win the battle for audiences, while Canal+ may be hamstrung by a divided army in Africa.
A management team split between two rival products is a distracted team.
Choosing to focus on DStv Stream will enable Canal+ to give its leaders a single, clear goal: to make this the best service in Africa.
This clarity speeds up decisions, unites the company, and allows for all its energy and investment to be channeled into one powerful stream.
But what about the interest Canal+ has in Showmax, one may ask?
Letting go isn’t a retreat; it’s a brilliant trade.
Comcast, which already owns 30% and built Showmax’s technology using its Peacock platform, is the natural buyer.
This sale would turn a complicated partnership into a pile of cash that could be used as rocket fuel for DStv Stream.
Such a move would enhance investment in local content, improve the technology and win the marketing battle. All that Canal+ has to do is sell its shares in Showmax to Comcast.
Let there be competition in the market, sure, but let Canal+ compete with a single, undivided purpose..
This means the boss of Canal+, Maxime Saada, has a choice.
He can cling to a messy, overlapping structure, or he can make a clean, decisive move.
Bet big on DStv Stream and compete to win the streaming battle.
GUGU LOURIE: Canal+ now has MultiChoice, but another battle looms over Showmax
Maxime Saada faces an inherent contradiction, with rival Comcast owning 30% of the SA streaming service
25 September 2025 – 05:00
As a student of history I was rereading David Chandler’s The Campaigns of Napoleon, which outlines the military genius that led to the French emperor’s greatest victories, and ultimately to his downfall. I couldn’t help but see a modern parallel in Maxime Saada, the CEO of Canal+, who has outsmarted the SA authorities in his battle to seize control of MultiChoice.
