French pay-TV giant Canal+ is set to make history with a June 3 listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), becoming the first French company to trade on South Africa’s bourse. The move follows its $3.2 billion acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025, a deal that capped an 18-month pursuit and reshaped the media landscape across Africa.
The listing is not merely symbolic. It fulfills regulatory commitments tied to the MultiChoice acquisition while signaling Canal+’s long-term intent to anchor itself more deeply in African markets. Although the company maintains its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, Johannesburg offers proximity to its fastest-growing audience base.
Early post-acquisition numbers suggest a mixed start. Canal+ reported 2025 revenues of €8.665 billion and EBITDA of €527 million, exceeding its €515 million forecast. The combined group now serves 42.3 million subscribers across Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, pressure remains evident in MultiChoice’s declining subscriber base, which dropped to 14.4 million from 14.9 million.
Investors initially reacted cautiously, with shares sliding 17% in March after Canal+ flagged the difficulty of reviving MultiChoice. Sentiment has since improved, with a 7.5% rebound as the company outlined a clearer turnaround strategy. For 2026, Canal+ is projecting moderate organic revenue growth and an increase in adjusted EBIT to €565 million.
Central to that recovery plan is a €100 million investment aimed at repositioning MultiChoice. CEO Maxime Saada is prioritizing stronger sales execution, improved content offerings, and simplified product structures. The company plans to hire over 1,000 sales staff across Africa to boost market penetration, while also implementing a voluntary severance program to streamline operations.
The strategy reflects a broader shift. Canal+ is moving away from underperforming streaming efforts toward reinforcing MultiChoice’s core pay-TV dominance in Africa, a market it views as underpenetrated but full of long-term potential.
As Canal+ prepares for its Johannesburg debut, the listing underscores a larger bet: that Africa’s evolving media consumption habits, combined with operational restructuring, can turn MultiChoice from a lagging asset into a growth engine.
