Drops in Subscription Numbers: MultiChoice Experiences a Loss of 1.2 Million Customers
MultiChoice, the South African media company known for its pay-TV service DStv, is grappling with significant subscriber losses and a revenue decline, according to recent financial reports.
The company's losses increased by R2.3 billion, and its revenue decreased by 9% to R50.8 billion, missing analyst forecasts of R52.9 billion. These figures reflect a challenging landscape for MultiChoice, with the company losing 1.2 million broadcast subscribers, leaving them with 14.5 million subscribers.
The decline in MultiChoice's core business is due to several factors, including repeated price hikes, inflation, currency depreciation, and declining consumer confidence across African markets. Consumers are abandoning DStv due to rising living costs, and the company has been negatively impacted by piracy, streaming, and social media.
However, MultiChoice is not standing still. The company is prioritizing growth in its streaming platform, Showmax, which saw a 44% year-on-year increase in active paying subscribers by March 2025. This growth is a critical part of MultiChoice's strategy to diversify revenue sources amidst the decline in pay-TV subscriptions.
MultiChoice is also focusing on exclusive shows to power growth, with 82 original local content releases and strategic joint ventures with Comcast's NBCUniversal. Showmax is growing despite heavy losses, and the streaming service was recently relaunched on Comcast’s Peacock platform.
To mitigate economic and macro challenges, such as inflation, currency instability, and lower consumer spending, MultiChoice is leveraging its digital payment platform, Moment. This includes new payment innovations like "Pay on TV" via QR codes and integration with local banks to enhance subscriber payment convenience and reduce costs.
Despite these efforts, MultiChoice's financial situation remains pressured. The group reported a 9% drop in overall revenue and an 11% decline in subscription revenue in the year ending March 2025, with notable steep declines in some markets (e.g., Nigeria's subscription revenue fell by 44%). The company is adopting a pricing strategy that involves further raising prices on DStv and GOtv, even as subscriber numbers fall, effectively prioritizing short-term profits at the risk of accelerating subscriber losses.
In the broader context, MultiChoice is operating in a challenging macroeconomic environment across sub-Saharan Africa. No significant bright spot was mentioned in the article, and France's Canal is a potential takeover target for MultiChoice.
In summary, MultiChoice’s traditional pay-TV business is shrinking under economic pressures and subscriber losses, but its strategic investments in Showmax and digital payment infrastructure aim to stabilize and grow revenue in the face of intense streaming competition and macroeconomic headwinds in South Africa and wider Africa. The firm appears to be balancing between short-term profit maintenance (via price hikes) and long-term growth through streaming and digital diversification.
- MultiChoice, recognizing the decline in its core business, is actively focusing on growth opportunities in the digital realm, specifically its streaming platform, Showmax.
- Amidst the challenges in the finance sector and the intensifying streaming competition, MultiChoice is investing in exclusive shows, strategic joint ventures, and digital payment innovations to diversify its revenue sources.
