The Competition Commission will maintain tight oversight of MultiChoice and Canal+ as it moves to enforce compliance with the merger’s conditions.
The watchdog’s oversight comes amid concerns raised by MPs recently about the merger, including whether its conditions met the highest standard of competition law, and the implications of the merger for local ownership as well as local content.
The commission and the telecoms and broadcasting regulator Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) went to parliament this month to explain their approval of the French company’s takeover of MultiChoice.
The deal was completed in September last year and since then Canal+ has made a number of changes that raised eyebrows.
For instance, it withheld payments to service providers and demanded 20% discounts; it recently offered voluntary severance packages (VSPs) at MultiChoice and Irdeto; and announced the closure of Showmax.
Given the rapid changes and developments post-merger, the commission has prioritised this matter for active monitoring.
— Siya Makunga, Competition Commission spokesperson
Asked if the commission would pay closer attention to compliance given such moves, spokesperson Siya Makunga said: “Given the rapid changes and developments post-merger, the commission has prioritised this matter for active monitoring.”
Effective merger assessment requires full disclosure of the strategic rationale and intentions of the merger parties, Makunga added.
“The commission routinely monitors mergers after implementation to ensure that the information underlying the competition and public interest assessment at the time of investigation was comprehensive and truthful.
“When there are material changes to a business shortly after approval, the commission verifies the reasons given against disclosures made during the investigation and evaluates whether the changes are consistent with the approval conditions.”
One of the conditions is a three-year moratorium on retrenchments.
Commenting on MultiChoice’s severance offers, Makunga said retrenchment conditions intend to protect workers against involuntary job losses that can be substantively linked to the merger. “If workers voluntarily accept severance packages, this would not fall under the moratorium imposed as a condition to the merger.”
Last year, the companies came under fire after withholding payments to all MultiChoice suppliers and demanding a 20% discount. This move prompted the Competition Commission — which approved the merger under strict conditions — to launch an investigation to establish whether there had been a breach of the conditions.
After a public outcry, sources said, small and medium-sized suppliers were reimbursed but other companies have not been paid. Makunga said the procurement investigation was in its final stages. “The merged entity has been responsive in addressing the commission’s concerns,” he said.
Two weeks ago, Canal+ released its 2025 full-year results showing a 6% or €142m (R2.6bn) decline in MultiChoice’s revenue, from €2,542m in 2024 to €2,400m, driven by a decline in subscribers from 14.9-million to 14.4-million. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax declined by 14% from €185m in 2024 to €159m.
Canal+ said the impact of smaller revenues was partially mitigated by cost-cutting. The media group will invest about €100m to launch a subscriber growth plan to accelerate the turnaround and “support MultiChoice’s return to sustainable growth”.
The plan includes lowering entry costs through equipment subsidies, expanding the distribution network and recruiting more than 1,000 salespeople across MultiChoice markets. This year, Canal+ expects to see a more modest decrease in subscribers, “resulting in a slower rate of decrease in revenues”.
Business Times
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