Canal+ published 79 pages of results on Tuesday covering the six months to 30 June 2026. Nowhere in them is a figure for how many subscribers MultiChoice has.

There is no DStv subscriber number, no split between Premium, Compact and Family, no average revenue per user for the South African business and no 90-day active count. The closest thing to a South African figure is a combined 22.6 million for the entire Africa and Asia segment, up 7.2% year on year.

That segment contains Canal+’s Francophone African pay-TV operations, MultiChoice, the fibre business Canal+ Telecom Africa and a pay-TV joint venture in Myanmar. Together, the Canal+ and MultiChoice brands operate pay-TV in more than 48 African countries.

Canal+’s own commentary shows how much of the growth comes from outside MultiChoice. Africa and Asia added 1.5 million subscribers over the year. French-speaking Africa alone contributed “more than one million additional subscribers”, driven by the Africa Cup of Nations and an expanded retail network. Myanmar’s base grew “at a very strong pace”, with revenue up more than 3.5 times. Canal+ Telecom Africa, renamed from Group Vivendi Africa during the period, is expanding fibre networks across 15 cities in 10 countries. Once those are accounted for, there is very little of the 1.5 million left for MultiChoice.

The results confirm as much, in a single sentence on page 11: within MultiChoice countries, “the subscriber portfolio was broadly flat compared to H1 2025”, with the historical decline offset by the Africa Cup of Nations, the Fifa World Cup and early effects of the growth boost plan.

The finances

MultiChoice delisted from the JSE on 10 December 2025, and Canal+ conducted a secondary inward listing on 3 June this year while retaining its primary listing in London.

Canal+ is not short of things to say about MultiChoice’s finances in the latest results:

Revenue of €1.18-billion, down 2.9%, or 3.4% in constant scope and currency;
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) before exceptional items of €143-million;
Adjusted Ebit margin of 12.1%, up from 8.7%;
Cash flow from operations before exceptional items of €225-million;
Free cash flow on the same basis of €161-million; and
Subscription revenue down by 1%.

What the group will not say is how many people are paying those subscriptions.

As a JSE-listed company, MultiChoice reported subscriber numbers twice a year in some detail: 90-day active subscribers broken down by tier, alongside average revenue per user and churn commentary for South Africa and the rest of Africa. That reporting made it possible to see exactly where the base was eroding – and it was the source for years of coverage showing Premium subscribers leaving faster than anyone else. These were numbers South African investors and regulators could rely on to delve into to scrutinise the business.

The lack of disclosure makes the turnaround plan’s headline claims impossible to test. Canal+ says subscriber acquisition in MultiChoice countries rose 40% and that June was the best month for new subscriber uptake in South Africa in a decade. But neither tells investors anything about the net position, because gross additions don’t disclose subscriber defections – and the company’s own admission that the portfolio is broadly flat suggests customers are leaving at close to the rate they are arriving.

The last time Canal+ gave a MultiChoice subscriber figure was in March, when it reported that the base had fallen to 14.4 million at the end of 2025 from 14.9 million a year earlier. Six months on, the group will say only that the number has stopped getting materially worse.

The numbers Canal+ did disclose

Group revenue rose 40% to €4.29-billion, up from €3.07-billion a year earlier, largely because MultiChoice was consolidated for a full six months for the first time. Measured against a combined prior-year base that includes MultiChoice, revenue was up 0.6%, or 0.1% in constant scope and currency.

Adjusted Ebit before exceptional items rose 68% to €433-million at a 10.1% margin, or 19.1% against the combined base. Excluding MultiChoice, Canal+ revenue grew 1.8% to €3.13-billion and adjusted Ebit 13% to €290-million.

Read: Canal+ doubles down on sport to defend DStv

Cash generation looks strong on the headline measure and considerably weaker below it. Cash flow from operations before exceptional items came in at €559-million, but against the combined prior-year figure of €647-million that is a 13.6% decline; free cash flow before exceptional items of €414-million was down 14.7% on the same basis. After exceptional items, cash flow from operations fell to €223-million from a combined €642-million and free cash flow to €79-million from €481-million, following a €336-million exceptional outflow that included €275-million towards settling a VAT dispute in France.

A further €89-million is due before year-end. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell to €29-million from €70-million, giving earnings of €0.03/share against €0.07. Headline earnings per share, disclosed for the first time under South African requirements, came in at €0.15.

Net debt stood at €2.09-billion. Full-year guidance was confirmed at flat revenue, adjusted Ebit of €735-million, cash flow from operations above €600-million and free cash flow above €250-million, before the French VAT settlement and restructuring costs.

On MultiChoice specifically, synergies delivered €122-million to the income statement, of which €70-million lifted adjusted Ebit and €52-million relates to the Showmax closure and is booked in discontinued operations.

Group restructuring costs jumped to €75-million from €6-million, mainly on the MultiChoice turnaround plan and the delivery of cost synergies, in which context a voluntary severance plan was launched during the period. MultiChoice contributed €233-million to group personnel costs, €35-million of it restructuring.

Canal+ still expects MultiChoice to deliver €170-million in adjusted Ebit for the full year, with the second half carrying most of the growth boost plan costs and content cost inflation. South Africa is now the group’s second-largest market by revenue at €764-million, or 17.8% of the total. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media