Thinus Ferreira
Weeks into its takeover of MultiChoice, multiple MultiChoice staffers are talking about the "very tense atmosphere" permeating the MultiChoice City head office in Randburg, Johannesburg, where Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot is apparently turning it into a "French chateau".
Threeweeks ago, Canal+ ordered MultiChoice to start doing the dirty work with MultiChoice and M-Net, which started to demand that all external suppliers and producers immediately cut their billing by 20%. Purchase orders (POs) also stopped being approved.
Workers say they were told "in a tone deaf way" to start to learn French.
MultiChoice City staffers also already suffered a lack of toilet paper after Canal+ refused that MultiChoice pay a vendor. According to staffers, the incoming French bosses' cost-cutting edicts are unreasonable, short-sighted and being done in a crass and insensitive way.
Producers from production companies across South Africa have already been forced to make their way to Johannesburg to go "and kiss the ring" as they met with incoming Canal+ Africa executives and had to "re-pitch" or familiarise the new TV royalty with what they actually do and produce for the string of M-Net packaged channels on DStv.
Payments were meanwhile suddenly and unilaterally cut under David Mignot and his French management team since they took over the running of well-known brands like DStv, Showmax, SuperSport, M-Net, kykNET and Mzansi Magic.
TVwithThinus was told of numerous suppliers and independent contractors who have reacted with anger and fury and at least one who broke down and started to cry after MultiChoice demanded the 20% cut on rates and invoicing already agreed on in existing contracts.
MultiChoice staffers inside the pay-TV operator, as well as suppliers and producers outside delivering work and services to MultiChoice, say their emotions range from irritation and stunning disbelief to anger over Canal+'s regime change at MultiChoice since late September.
They describe the atmosphere over the past few weeks as extremely tense.
According to them, Canal+ Africa's management and management style is "brutish, thoughtless" and has been described as "French tastelessless", claiming that the French-mandated cost-cutting is going to end up damaging MultiChoice over the long term.
Anecdotal evidence of MultiChoice turning into the SABC that can't pay is surfacing everywhere.
MultiChoice City at some point the past month, ran out of toilet paper since a vendor wasn't paid.
SuperSport, due to a lack of camera rigging that it suddenly no longer wanted to pay for, almost missed transmitting a rugby match on DStv after a supplier absolutely refused to do the work unless it wasn't paid the full outstanding amount due and quoted and not the invoice cut by 20%.
Then there's a company responsible for delivering on-air video graphics that abruptly cut their deliverables to MultiChoice and M-Net by 20% after they had no choice to go along with the mandated 20% cut.
With an existing backlog in work just building further for the graphics content MultiChoice and M-Net desperate need on air, I'm told the production company took a decision to no longer even respond to MultiChoice's urgent after-hours requests.
According to promises to the Competition Commission of South Africa, Canal+ isn't allowed to retrench any MultiChoice workers.
Now Canal+ is cutting external service providers and producers - of which there are thousands on the MultiChoice books - by 20%.
Since many of these are not even doing any mark-up of 20%, suddenly having their invoices slashed by 20%, means that they are in very real terms paying MultiChoice to do work for MultiChoice. That is unsustainable.
It also means that these service providers and production companies will be the first to let people go and get rid of staff, who in many cases have also been told they will be paid less, with absolutely not even a month's notice.
In correspondence from MultiChoice to suppliers that TVwithThinus saw, the pay-TV operator said it is "currently implementing a new finance operations process following our Canal+ acquisition".
"As part of the transaction, all cost-estimations (CE's) in the system are being reviewed to align with Canal+ procedures."
Purchase orders are now signed off by Canal+ Africa's new French money handlers who apparently won't sign off on it unless the amount is abruptly cut by 20%.
MultiChoice will also no longer publish any half-year results for the year until the end of September on 12 November.
This is because MultiChoice after its Canal+ buyout no longer has it as a Johannesburg stock exchange requirement.
Canal+ and MultiChoice, therefore, get a few more months to push out the ongoing bad news about DStv's tanking subscriber numbers and the money-guzzling Showmax's disappointing subscriber growth that is far below what was originally promised to investors.
Another MultiChoice staffers says "the French came in with masks. They're not as accommodating as they initially pretended to be".
According to some, there is a pervasive feeling that the "new French" is "looking down on MultiChoice. The few of them who are working with MultiChoice are apparently hated by the other French. It's a bizarre situation".
Workers say the cost-cutting that they have to carry out has affected everyone very badly. "People are demoralised".
MultiChoice is now also chasing to fit in with Canal+'s financial year that ends at the end of December, instead of the end of March as it used to be.
Now everyone has to jump to come up with new "growth plans", arbitrary contract changes as well as new budgets that are supposed to come into effect in from January 2026, instead of April 2026.
Also cut: The events.
Conspicuously absent was any physical celebration on 6 October when DStv turned 30, as well as any media vent for kykNET's Binnelanders soap that turned 20.
Later this month the Suidooster soap, also a kykNET production, will turn 10, apparently also without any big physical fanfare or celebration.
All of these examples are in very stark contrast to the 10 and 20-year celebrations of DStv, as well as when M-Net turned 20 and 30 and MultiChoice held big celebrations and parties to honour these milestones.
"It's going to damage MultiChoice on the long term if you now cut so indiscriminately and immediately," noted another insider.
"It's ridiculous to claim that people won't lose their jobs, since many people working for MultiChoice, as is typical in South Africa's media biz, are not permanent workers, and not permanent workers of MultiChoice."
In another internal memo sent to MultiChoice workers, they were asked to start learning French. Workers described the way it was done as "French tastelessness".
"I wish Canal+ tried to learn more about us before they started to bulldoze," noted a source.
Someone else remarked: "This feels like economic colonialism. Now they want people to learn to speak French. What about Zulu? What about one of the other official South African languages heard on Mzansi Magic?"
A producer said there is growing fear over the increasing pressure of having to provide shows to MultiChoice and M-Net's various channels but having to do it with even more product placement and sponsorships but having to make it look like normal programming.
"Whar are DStv subscribers eventually going to end up watching, who are already paying very expensively for television? Half-hour and hour-long ads disguised as real shows?"
MultiChoice, in response to a media query, told TVwithThinus that "As has been publicly reported, over the past two years MultiChoice has
embarked on a significant drive to reduce costs in the business, with
the goal of driving efficiency".
"This has continued following the
completion of the Canal+ merger and MultiChoice is
engaging with suppliers in this regard."
"Managing spend in the business
is important to ensure that MultiChoice continues to play a key role in
the South African and African broadcasting ecosystem over the long term.
This will enable MultiChoice to continue
to support the numerous industries which it supports and to fulfil its
extensive public interest commitments made to the Competition Tribunal."
South Africa's Competition Commission told me that it is concerned about the allegations of what is happening at MultiChoice after Canal+'s takeover.
Siyabulela Makunga, spokesperson, says "The Commission confirms that the Canal+ and MultiChoice Group merger was approved subject
to several conditions, including a commitment to procure local content
from historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) and SMMEs".
"The Commission notes with
concern the allegations raised."
"The Commission
will investigate these allegations in terms of the Competition Act 89
of 1998, as amended, to establish whether there has been a breach of the
conditions of approval of the merger."
