Warner Bros, Canal+ talks stall, jeopardising Multichoice channel offerings

Loni Prinsloo and Antony Sguazzin

Talks between Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Canal+ SA about renewing a content agreement for South African pay-TV operator MultiChoice Group have stalled over price, according to people familiar with the matter.

The agreement that includes access to channels such as CNN International and Cartoon Network is now in jeopardy, said the people who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Negotiations halted last week and have yet to restart, the people said.

“Our distribution agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery is scheduled to conclude” on Dec. 31, the company said in an emailed response to questions. “No final decision has been made regarding the future availability of those channels, and renewal discussions remain a normal part of industry practice. At this stage, we are not in a position to comment on any other commercial agreements.”

Warner Bros. is currently in talks with Netflix Inc. about a possible sale of the business.

The potential loss of channels for MultiChoice comes at a time when the company, acquired by Canal+ in September, is struggling to retain subscribers. The Johannesburg-based company lost almost 3 million customers in the past two financial years.

MultiChoice last week sent a notice to customers saying a number of Warner Bros. channels may not be available from Jan. 1, without identifying them. It gave no further details, other than to say it’s offering includes a large number of other channels and it’s committed to “delivering the best value” to clients.

The group is also losing access to Paramount Skydance Corp’s channels, including the popular MTV Base, as it plans to exit South Africa.

“While channels may be added or removed from time to time, there is currently no change to DStv subscription pricing,” MultiChoice said. “This includes Paramount pulling BET Africa, MTV Base, CBS Justice and CBS Reality from our platform.”

The exclusive deal that MultiChoice signed with Warner Bros., known for hit shows including Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, has been in place since 1999. At the time, MultiChoice was one of only three television networks globally to have agreements with major US film studios.

MultiChoice was created by Cape Town-based Naspers Ltd. In 2019, the company was spun off Naspers and in 2024, Canal+ made a takeover approach for MultiChoice, after it started reporting financial and subscriber losses. The premium service for MultiChoice is priced at about $60 a month.