MultiChoice’s shrinking subscriber base

MultiChoice has lost 11% of its total customer base, ending its financial year with 20.9-million subscribers.

The group’s South African subscriber base has fallen by 8% to 8.6-million, according to its latest results.

The JSE-listed company has, until now, managed to consistently grow its customer numbers, holding steady through the trials of Covid-19. It blames the fall in numbers on a ‘challenging consumer environment’.

Owner of DStv, Showmax and SuperSport, Africa’s largest pay-TV operator stretches to Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria. Its Rest of Africa numbers are also headed downward, falling by 1.8-million subscribers.

Its reported average revenue per user is a slim R170, with the Rest of Africa segment dropping by almost a third to R113. Although twice as firm in SA, local average revenue per user is now R254, a way off the R335 it hit in 2018.

The group is currently in talks with France’s Groupe Canal+ over a R30-billion takeover deal.

Notebook

• Global TV companies battle for dominance in Africa: The continent is split 3 ways along language lines between dominant satellite TV providers
• South Africa’s streaming wars: Showmax is gaining ground on Netflix in Africa [chart]
• Local content production: Showmax and Netflix have commissioned more than 70 shows in SA and Nigeria [chart]