by Thinus Ferreira
By high noon on 31 December, just hours before its channel carriage agreement was to lapse by midnight, Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery signed a new multi-year deal that will keep WBD's 12 TV channels on DStv, as well as HBO content on M-Net (DStv 101), that will also see the roll-out of the HBO Max streamer in 2026 in Africa as a tile through MultiChoice.
TVwithThinus has reliably learnt that part of the contentious and months-long channel carriage agreement extension negotiations was the fact that Canal+ as the new owner of Africa's MultiChoice, didn't just want to renew the South African and sub-Saharan African rights, but rather as a subset lump Africa into a new, wider overall carriage agreement with Europe.
It was therefore also no longer MultiChoice negotiating with Warner Bros. Discovery but Canal+ negotiating with WBD - and not just for South Africa, or Africa, but for Africa and Europe as a bigger umbrella rights deal.
Besides South Africa, the new multi-year agreement between Canal+ and WBD covers African countries including Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Réunion, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Saint Helena, Somalia, Eswatini (ex. Swaziland), Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Canal+ isn't willing to say for how many years the new channel carriage agreement is to keep WBD's content being seen in South Africa and across the African continent.
The deal is for all 12 existing pay-TV channels from Warner Bros. Discovery to remain on DStv in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.
With the extension deal, M-Net (Dstv 101) subscribers are at least assured to see new drama series in 2026 like the Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and the third season of House of the Dragon, as well as the new Green Lantern science fiction series Lanterns, and in 2027 the first season of the new Harry Potter drama series.
CNN International and Cartoon Network will be on DStv in South Africa exclusively, and non-exclusively in other African countries, meaning these two channels will be carried on other services elsewhere in Africa as well.
Cartoon Network Porto will be exclusively carried in Angola and Mozambique, and non-exclusively in other territories.
The Cartoonito, Cartoonito Porto, Discovery Channel, Discovery Family, Real Time, ID, TLC, HGTV, Travel, TNT Africa and Food Network channels will be carried on DStv as non-exclusive TV channels.
Canal+ was playing hardball: The French didn't want to renew just the African and South African carriage agreement but insisted on folding it into a bigger overall deal for Canal+ to "consolidate and expand" its WBD deal across Europe.
Canal+'s African deal is folded into a bigger carriage agreement between Canal+ and WBD for Europe where Canal+ at the same time negotiated for the renewal of Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and CNN International in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia; the renewal of Warner TV in the Czech Republic and the renewal of HBO Max, HBO, and Cinemax in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.
Expanding WBD's streamer HBO Max through Canal+ into Belgium and Austria as two new countries was also part of the contract negotiations.
Look for WBD's streamer, HBO Max, to also be rolled out in at least South Africa and possible elsewhere in Africa, during 2026, in the same way MultiChoice carries Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as partnership streamers alongside its own Showmax.
Not yet known: Whether the new agreement between Canal+ and WBD will include or exclude the carriage of WBD and HBO content on Showmax itself.
Canal+ says in a press statement the "expanded agreement covers both the distribution of HBO Max and the renewal of several Warner Bros. Discovery thematic channels across numerous regions in Africa and Europe".
"This agreement enables Canal+ to strengthen its entertainment, kids, news, and documentary channel offerings in African markets."
Warner Bros. Discovery, in response to a media query, tells me "We are pleased to confirm that Warner Bros. Discovery and MultiChoice have reached an agreement that will see all our channels
and content remain available to DStv and GOtv viewers across Africa".
"We value our long‑standing
partnership with MultiChoice and remain committed to delivering the world‑class
entertainment, kids' programming, factual content and global brands that audiences know and love."
WBD was asked on Wednesday afternoon for how many years its multi-year agreement for South Africa and Africa is with Canal+'s MultiChoice.
WBD said "We cannot disclose the duration of the agreement as this information is commercially sensitive."
WBD was also asked when HBO Max will be added and rolled out.
WBD said "HBO
Max is now available in more than 100 markets worldwide. Our current
focus is on the upcoming expansion into the UK, Germany and Italy in
early 2026. Beyond these planned launches, we continue to evaluate
opportunities to grow our global footprint in markets where we can build
a meaningful, scaled, and profitable direct-to-consumer business, and
we will consider additional market entries thereafter."
