French media group CANAL+ announced on Wednesday that it will initiate a voluntary severance plan at MultiChoice across its support functions.
The company will also launch a restructuring programme at Irdeto, MultiChoice’s technology and cyber-security company.
“These planned changes are consistent with the commitments CANAL+ made during the acquisition of MultiChoice and align with the ambition of CANAL+ to streamline certain functions while investing more in activities that directly support the Group’s growth and business development,” said CANAL+.
CANAL+ will focus on four key medium-term priorities:
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Turning around MultiChoice and capturing African growth opportunities through the launch of a “boost plan” and the acceleration of synergy delivery in 2026.
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Increasing profitability in Europe through the constant monitoring and optimisation of the cost base and the activation of topline levers, such as penetrating untapped population segments.
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Further strengthening CANAL+’s leading entertainment platform across Africa and Europe, notably with the creation of global IPs and franchises building on the model of Paddington.
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Pursuing a disciplined approach to cost management and capital allocation.
CANAL+ aims to restore profitable growth at MultiChoice by leveraging the combined expertise, scale, and capabilities of both companies across Africa. A €100 million “boost plan” launching this year will accelerate the turnaround and support MultiChoice’s return to sustainable growth. The turnaround plan is structured around four strategic pillars designed to reignite subscriber growth and strengthen the business.
“The transformation will be underpinned by group–wide operational excellence, implementing best practices across countries, standardising operating model, capturing synergies from the combined group’s scale, reinforcing anti-piracy capabilities and shifting MultiChoice model to a sales-focused model,” said CANAL+.
“To do so, CANAL+ intends to strengthen its commercial capabilities and its on-the-ground presence with a recruitment plan of over 1,000 sales-focused positions in Africa.”
The group will accelerate subscriber growth by lowering entry costs through equipment subsidies, expanding its distribution network, and reinforcing its commercial organisation with the recruitment of more than 1,000 salespeople on the ground across MultiChoice markets.
“In Europe, we will continue to focus on improving profitability. In Africa, we will ensure we are well positioned to benefit from the continent’s growth potential and turn around MultiChoice,” said CANAL+.
“We expect to list CANAL+ on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange soon, in what will be a significant moment for our company.”
The numbers are heading in the wrong direction, but CANAL+ sees a path forward. As MultiChoice continues to lose customers and revenue, its parent company is launching a €100 million (R1.9 billion) rescue package, dubbed a “boost plan”, designed to reverse the losses and restore growth to the African broadcasting giant.
