by Thinus Ferreira
Canal+'s MultiChoice is facing a massive DStv content crisis from 2026 if it is unable to retain Warner Bros. Discovery's channels through a contract extension, with Cartoon Network grabbing half of all kids viewing, and TNT as the most-watched international movie channel.
France's cost-cutting Canal+, MultiChoice and WBD are still locked in contentious channels carriage agreement negotiations.
In a week and a half from now, MultiChoice and M-Net are set to lose up to 12 TV channels on DStv, as well as all of the HBO content and the other content acquired from Warner Bros. Television and Warner's film studios shown on the M-Net (Dstv 101) and M-Net Movies channels.
While MultiChoice says it's working on replacements, the stark reality is that Canal+ and MultiChoice don't have access to like-for-like content.
Nothing really exists to fill the utterly massive content gap that will be left if M-Net loses HBO, and DStv loses hugely popular TV channels like the Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, HGTV, CNN International, TLC and a litany of others.
As a third-party channel distributor, the WBD linear TV channel bundle, in addition to the HBO and other Warner studios content, represents a very big - and extremely important - content chunk of the overall DStv and M-Net content universe.
The WBD portfolio - channels like Cartoon Network, which has been on DStv since it launched thirty years ago, as well as Cartoonito - captures a staggering 49% of all kids' channel viewing on DStv.
In other words, just those two kids channels on DStv get half of the total kids viewing, while all of the other kids channels combined, represent the other half.
The loss of Cartoon Network would be immeasurable to DStv subscribers who pay to keep their kids entertained.
Cartoon Network by itself remains the number one kids' channel on DStv, and delivers double the audience of its nearest competing kids channel on DStv.
In response to a media query, WBD confirmed Cartoon Network's channel lead position on DStv and told TVwithThinus that "Cartoon Network has maintained its leadership since 2006 as the leading kids’ channel on pay TV, available from the DStv Access package and higher".
"Cartoonito’s appeal is clear: it ranks as the number one channel in the DStv Family package and again took the top spot during the November open period, celebrating DStv’s 30th anniversary," WBD said.
Meanwhile, TNT ranks as the number one international movie channel on DStv, while the reality-focused TLC holds the crown for lifestyle content.
While 24-hour TV news channels have a much lower viewership on DStv, similar to worldwide, these channels do have a dedicated audience and court an often highly informed audience.
A DStv without CNN International on it - also one of the TV channels that DStv started out with 30 years ago - would be difficult for MultiChoice to justify and also impossible to replace.
WBD says "These figures highlight the unique value our portfolio continues to deliver to South African families. Audiences in South Africa have loved our channels for almost 30 years and remain among the most watched and valued."
MultiChoice says it is working on "strong alternatives" if a channel carriage contract extension with WBD can't be worked out, and that it is working on "enhancements to the 2026 line-up, including new content, new channels, and new services to ensure customers continue to receive exceptional value".
MultiChoice says "At this stage no new agreement has been reached between the parties".
"Should this remain the case, these channels will no longer form part of the DStv line-up from 1 January, 2026. As always, any updates that may affect our customers will be communicated directly and transparently."
It's impossible to predict whether there would be a deal or not, since Canal+'s new Canal+ Africa division is busy with aggressive cost-cutting at MultiChoice after buying out the legacy pay-TV operator.
Meanwhile, WBD knows the value of its content and is becoming less and less dependent on the revenue coming in from its legacy linear pay-TV channels as more and more content is shifted to streaming platforms like its own HBO Max and licensed to other platforms.
