MultiChoice’s new French owner, Canal+, has stripped SuperSport of its authority to acquire sports rights, with all decisions now made directly from Paris as part of a major cost-cutting drive .
Veteran broadcasting journalist Thinus Ferreira told 702 that Canal+ has told investors it must reduce expenses. However, the company cannot fire staff for three years, so it is looking at other ways to cut costs .
“One of the things they are doing is they’ve taken away all of the acquisition power from SuperSport,” Ferreira said. “Our new European masters are deciding for us which sports they will buy or not, directly from Paris in France, where Canal+’s head office is” .
The impact is already visible. For the first time in decades, DStv subscribers cannot watch the Winter Olympics, currently underway in Italy, despite South Africa sending its largest-ever team to the Games . The World Darts Championships has also been dropped from the lineup .
MultiChoice confirmed it “did not acquire the broadcast rights” for the Winter Games, pointing to a content strategy focused on “the most-watched sporting codes” . The Olympics rights for South Africa remain unclaimed, listed as “TBC” on the official website .
Growing Threat from Streamers
Ferreira warned that international streaming platforms with large budgets pose an increasing threat to SuperSport’s dominance .
“Streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and others have more money to spend on content and to acquire more content,” he said. “It is just a matter of time before they rip away more sports — the lifeblood of traditional pay-TV — from it” .
Global streaming platforms will spend $14.2 billion on sports rights in 2026, with Amazon Prime Video becoming the largest investor, accounting for 27% of total spend . This includes the NBA, NFL Thursday Night Football, and UEFA Champions League rights in multiple countries .
Ferreira noted that WWE has already moved to Netflix, and in Australia, the English Premier League, rugby, and cricket have shifted from traditional pay-TV to streaming services .
Financial Pressure
MultiChoice has lost 2.8 million subscribers over two years, with revenue declining from R58.42 billion in 2023 to R49.98 billion . Canal+ is targeting over €400 million in annual cost savings by 2030, with €80 million already secured for 2026 .
The cuts extend beyond sports, with local production contracts for shows on kykNET and Mzansi Magic piling up unsigned in Paris as Canal+ demands cheaper terms . The company has also lost rights to new HBO content after failing to renew its deal with Warner Bros Discovery, meaning shows like the upcoming Harry Potter series and House of the Dragon sequel may not air in South Africa .
For now, the message from Paris is clear: cheaper content, tighter control, and a willingness to walk away from expensive rights . Whether this strategy preserves DStv’s relevance or accelerates its decline remains to be seen.