After months of speculation around the future of some of its most-watched channels, Multichoice has secured a reprieve for pay-TV subscribers across Africa through a new content agreement tied to its parent company, CANAL+ Group.
CANAL+ has entered into a fresh multi-year, multi-territory deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), ensuring that a broad slate of WBD channels will remain on MultiChoice platforms, while also expanding the availability of HBO Max in selected markets. The agreement puts to rest fears that key channels could disappear from DStv and related services at the start of 2026.
Under the renewed arrangement, 12 Warner Bros. Discovery thematic channels will continue to be distributed across MultiChoice territories. These include staples such as CNN International, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, Travel, Cartoonito, and TNT Africa. Rights will vary by market, with some channels remaining exclusive in specific countries and others carried on a non-exclusive basis across the continent.
For South Africa, CNN International and Cartoon Network will retain exclusive carriage, while Angola and Mozambique will have exclusive access to Cartoon Network Porto. In other markets, the channels will be available alongside competing platforms.
The announcement follows warnings issued by MultiChoice late last year, when the company informed subscribers that its existing carriage agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery was set to expire on December 31, 2025. At the time, negotiations were still ongoing, raising the possibility that popular channels could be pulled from DStv from January 1, 2026. That prospect sparked concern among viewers in Nigeria, South Africa, and other African markets where WBD channels form a core part of the pay-TV experience.
Beyond Africa, the new deal reflects a broader strengthening of ties between CANAL+ and Warner Bros. Discovery across Europe. MultiChoice said the agreement builds on earlier partnerships concluded by CANAL+ in key European markets, signalling a more coordinated, group-wide approach to content licensing.
One of the most significant of those earlier deals was struck in France in 2024, where CANAL+ renewed its exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. Pictures films. That agreement allows CANAL+ subscribers to watch new Warner Bros. movie releases just six months after they leave cinemas. It also opened the door for HBO Max to be bundled into selected CANAL+ offers, an increasingly important move as traditional broadcasters adjust to changing viewing habits shaped by streaming.
A similar pattern emerged in Poland in 2025, where CANAL+ extended its rights to distribute 22 thematic channels, including TVN24 and Eurosport, alongside several free-to-air channels. Taken together, these agreements underline Warner Bros. Discovery’s willingness to continue relying on established pay-TV partners in certain markets, even as it expands its direct-to-consumer streaming ambitions through HBO Max.
For MultiChoice, the renewed deal provides much-needed stability at a time when the company is navigating subscriber losses, currency volatility across African markets, and intensifying competition from global streaming platforms. It also strengthens CANAL+’s strategic position as it steadily increases its influence over MultiChoice and deepens its footprint on the continent.
From Warner Bros. Discovery’s perspective, the agreement preserves distribution scale and advertising reach in regions where pay-TV remains dominant, ensuring its content continues to reach millions of households while streaming adoption gradually accelerates.
For now, the outcome offers reassurance to subscribers and removes a major point of uncertainty from MultiChoice’s 2026 outlook, even as the broader battle for viewers’ attention continues to evolve.
Read Also: https://techsudor.com/canal-moves-to-reimagine-dstv-after-multichoice-acquisition/
