Exclusive deal talks between Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery – details of which were reported on by The Wall Street Journal on Friday – arguably could hardly have come at a worse time for MultiChoice Group.

According to the Journal (paywall), Netflix has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Warner Bros’ studios and HBO Max streaming division, outbidding Paramount and Comcast for the assets behind some of the world’s most valuable franchises, including Superman, Harry Potter and HBO’s award-winning series. (It appears from US media reports that CNN and other linear channels may be excluded from the transaction, if it proceeds.)

For MultiChoice, the development lands in the middle of an already-sensitive situation, with its DStv platform at risk of losing up to 12 Warner Bros Discovery channels across all bouquets from 1 January 2026 should the parties fail to agree on a new distribution deal. Those channels include Discovery Channel, TLC, Real Time, TNT Africa, Cartoon Network and CNN – a sizeable chunk of DStv’s factual, lifestyle, kids and news offering.

Now add Netflix’s potential purchase of Warner Bros’ studios and HBO Max, and the picture becomes even more complicated.

MultiChoice is effectively attempting to strike a carriage deal with a company whose most valuable parts may soon belong to the world’s dominant streaming platform.

A Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros would give the streaming giant:

One of Hollywood’s most prolific film and TV production engines;
The HBO library of premium content, much of which is currently available through Showmax, MultiChoice’s homegrown rival to Netflix in Africa; and
A deep catalogue of documentary and children’s content.

This would accelerate a shift already hurting traditional pay-TV platforms: premium content moving onto fewer, more powerful global streaming services.

If Netflix ends up controlling HBO and a vast library of content historically licensed to third-party broadcasters, DStv may face higher costs or even the outright loss of rights – including for on-demand content. That’s bad news, potentially, for Showmax, whose recent relaunch with the backing of Comcast and subsidiary NBCUniversal doesn’t exactly seem to have been a glowing success.

Streaming first

For MultiChoice, already battling subscriber decline and intensifying streaming competition, the risk of losing the 12 Warner Bros channels on DStv was serious enough on its own. A turbocharged Netflix with Warner Bros’ crown jewels could further erode DStv’s value proposition and raises questions about Showmax’s future content slate.

The broader concern is that Warner Bros Discovery, as part of Netflix, may in future reserve its highest-value content for streaming-first distribution on its own platforms.

Read: Canal+ plays hardball – and DStv viewers feel the pain

It’s clear that MultiChoice’s new owner, France’s Canal+, is on a cost-cutting mission as it contends with a shrinking subscriber base at DStv. In this difficult environment, Canal+ has little choice but to play hardball with suppliers to keep costs under control.

This likely means that simply agreeing to pay the fees Warner Bros Discovery wants is not an option MultiChoice and Canal+ find palatable.

And there is also no guarantee that paying more will secure long-term rights if Netflix ultimately takes control and adopts a streaming-first and own platforms-first distribution strategy.

It could look for alternative content sources, and here Canal+’s global relationships with content studios and the group’s global buying power could help.

Of course, a Netflix/Warner Bros combination is far from a done deal – it will face intense regulatory scrutiny in the US – and that may give MultiChoice and Canal+ a window of opportunity.

Warner Bros may not want to destabilise its international footprint during a delicate review by US competition regulators. MultiChoice could use this uncertainty as leverage, effectively betting that Warner Bros will prefer stability until a sale is finalised.

If regulators in Washington (or Brussels, for that matter) raise concerns about Netflix buying HBO Max, Warner Bros may want to demonstrate consistency in its third-party relationships, including in Africa.

Whatever transpires, the combination of a potential Warner Bros/Netflix deal and the looming 12-channel blackout means DStv’s fight to defend the value of its linear bouquets — and even its streaming platform — is likely to get more difficult as the world marches towards a future where video entertainment is dominated by a handful of global media giants. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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