Canal+ may roll out its streaming service in countries where MultiChoice operates as it reviews the future of the struggling Showmax platform. The French group, which last September concluded its acquisition of MultiChoice, is in advanced discussions with Comcast, which owns about 30% of Showmax. In addition to Showmax, MultiChoice also operates DStv Stream.
Canal+ group CEO Maxime Saada said the rollout of the Canal+ App — which was previously known as myCanal — in MultiChoice territory is a “possibility … like we have done in French-speaking Africa”. “Today, the Canal+ App is present in more than 30 countries, and we know it can withhold a lot of volume. But it’s not a decision we have taken because we have not yet concluded on Showmax.” Saada said the competitive environment in over-the-top (OTT) or streaming services in Africa is “very limited”.
“We estimate that rate at less than 5%, so this is really a continent that is prime for growth on pay television.” The scale that we have today, being a new group, is really helping us to have better conditions Canal+ recently signed a deal to bundle Netflix with its services in French-speaking African countries where it operates. Saada said most of the competition will come from the same players “we have a strong relationship with in all mature markets”. He said it is not easy for these players to succeed in Africa.
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“One of them, a very big platform, pulled out of South Africa in terms of producing content,” he said, referring to Amazon. “They were very aggressive a few years ago; not anymore. “So I think that we don’t expect more intense competition than we do in other major markets, especially because David [Mignot, CEO of Canal+ Africa, which includes MultiChoice] has made sure, both in French-speaking Africa and now in English-speaking Africa, that our position is very, very strong.”
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