Latest news with #MultiChoice
News24
11 hours ago
- Sport
- News24
Beloved broadcaster Phumlani Msibi, of ‘Thoughts Please' fame, dies aged 57
Broadcasting giant SuperSport and the South African Sporting fraternity are mourning the loss of celebrated commentator and presenter Phumlani Msibi, who died on Friday. The popular Durban-born broadcaster, who was synonymous with the phrase 'Thoughts please' when speaking to coaches and players in post-match interviews and his 'Halakasha' exclamation when goals were scored when he was on football commentary, succumbed to a short illness. He was 57 at the time of his passing. Msibi had carved out a niche for himself at SuperSport with this versatility, excelling in boxing and horse racing, while also moving seamlessly across isiZulu and English when commentating. Msibi, who came through the South African Broadcasting Corporation, quickly established himself at SuperSport in 2007 after they acquired the Premier Soccer League's broadcasting rights. SuperSport's chief executive officer Rendani Ramovha paid tribute to Msibi, saying his versatility and professionalism had endeared him to colleagues and friends alike. 'Msibi was one of the most beloved sports commentators SuperSport has ever had,' Ramovha said. 'He had a reputation as an outstanding professional, well-respected by his peers and colleagues and a respected family man. 'On behalf of SuperSport and the MultiChoice family, we'd like to express our heartfelt condolences to the Msibi family following this great loss. 'Msibi's loss will be felt not just by the broadcaster and football fraternity but by the whole sporting community at large. 'We are gravely saddened by his passing.'
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Game on: MultiChoice eyes standalone sports packages to stop the viewer bleed
MultiChoice is facing significant financial challenges amid a decline in active subscribers. Image: Karen Sandison/Independent Newspapers MultiChoice is considering the possibility of separating its flagship SuperSport channels from its broader DStv packages. The company has seen a steady drop in inactive linear subscribers in recent years. According to its latest annual reports, MultiChoice has lost a staggering 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the past two financial years. "The South African economy saw some signs of potential improvement in the current year as inflation eased, and the South African Reserve Bank started lowering interest rates," the group noted in its annual report. "However, high unemployment, low economic growth and the ongoing effect of load reductions have meant that the South African consumer remains under significant financial pressure, which is negatively affecting businesses like MultiChoice that provides discretionary products and services". Despite this, SuperSport has shown strong growth and engagement, with increased viewership for major sports events including cricket, rugby, football, and MMA. According to the group's CEO, Calvo Mawela, they are considering new stand-alone sports packages as part of their strategy to adapt to changing viewer habits. 'As part of our product offering, we have always had this project that we ran every year where we look at our packaging structures, similar to what Sky did some years back where they had a basic package, they had a sports package on the side (and) they had a general entertainment package on the side,' Mawela said according to Reuters. 'We've accelerated that project in terms of getting us to finalise which direction we're going to take in this financial year. But yes, we are considering all options as part of a broader product offering going forward.' [email protected] IOL Business Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
The Finance Ghost: MultiChoice and Telkom – the scoreboard on strategic evolution
While MultiChoice doubles down on streaming in a fierce global battleground, Telkom is quietly winning the long game by focusing on defensible, scalable growth areas such as mobile and fibre. One is evolving with precision; the other is gambling on reinvention. The scoreboard speaks for itself. As the country celebrated the incredible scenes of the Proteas finally lifting an ICC trophy, I couldn't help but think about the platform that I was watching the game on: SuperSport, of course, being the MultiChoice product that is surely their prized asset. With the game happening in the same week as MultiChoice releasing a really horrible set of numbers, the irony of the situation wasn't lost on me. We are a sport-mad country, yet MultiChoice's current investment strategy seems to revolve around trying to compete with Netflix instead. Evolution is a painful thing, with MultiChoice needing to take steps to futureproof the business and avoid technological obsolescence. In the past week, the local poster child for this type of journey also released results: Telkom. Perhaps the core difference here is that Telkom picked manageable areas to focus on, where they had a decent chance of unlocking a sustainable competitive position. Over at MultiChoice, they've chosen the capex black hole of streaming, where we know from the likes of Netflix and Disney just how long it takes to turn from red to green. With the MultiChoice share price artificially high because of the Canal+ offer, we can't make a direct share price performance comparison. But with Telkom up 79% in the past 12 months and MultiChoice registering heavy losses, it's not hard to identify the current winner. Will Canal+ see success like this in years to come with MultiChoice? To get there, they will certainly need deep pockets. MultiChoice: trying to be Africa's Netflix At least 1.2 million – this is how many paying customers MultiChoice managed to lose in the year ended March 2025. There was an even split across South Africa and the rest of Africa, with the easy excuse being that streaming is the future and traditional TV networks are in huge trouble. Whilst there is some truth to this, it also incorrectly absolves MultiChoice of any of the blame here. One of the big issues MultiChoice faces at the moment is that a DStv Premium package costs far more than Netflix. In fact, you can have a few streaming options in your household and still pay less than you'll part with each month for DStv Premium. This was manageable in a time when not every household had fibre internet, as the cost of sufficiently fast internet plus the streaming platforms would make DStv a lot more competitive in relative terms. But these days, with households focusing on fibre rather than satellites anyway (when did you last see a satellite dish on a modern home?), the saving when you choose streaming over DStv is significant. Only the most die-hard sports enthusiasts with space in their budgets can justify the full package. In this competitive environment, you would think that MultiChoice would be focused on bringing the cost of the offering down. After all, when you're shedding volumes (in this case subscribers), wouldn't it be sensible to be more aggressive on price to win back customers and improve the overall economics? Instead, MultiChoice notes that they increased prices in South Africa by 5.7% and in the rest of Africa by 31%. Shocking as it might be in the case of the latter percentage, these are inflationary increases. But when your customer base is sending a clear message by cancelling their subscriptions, then inflation isn't going to cut it. For whatever reason, MultiChoice has decided that Showmax is the hill that they will die on. Instead of building out a world-class way to deliver the best of DStv (including sport) to households with fibre, they are trying to take the fight to the likes of Netflix by building a distinct offering. Regional content will help them compete here, but does it really make sense to throw everything at Showmax, particularly at a time when the core business is struggling? The Canal+ deal has been on the table for a while now. Each time MultiChoice releases numbers, they seem to be getting worse. Canal+ certainly can't claim that they are going in with anything other than eyes wide open. Whatever their plan is, I hope they have deep pockets to support a strategy of trying to become Africa's Netflix rather than focusing on areas where there's an obvious competitive advantage. Telkom: from legacy to legit Telkom's results for the year ended March demonstrate why the market is loving this story. There has been so much focus on competing in the right areas and unlocking margins, evidenced by adjusted Ebitda growth of 25.1% despite revenue being just 3.3% higher. With profits through the roof, the balance sheet is also in much healthier shape. This is supportive of dividends, which only gives further support to the share price. It's a lovely cycle to be on the right side of. The reason for Telkom's success is that they've reached a point where the growth areas of the business are outpacing the decline in the legacy business. They've pushed in segments where they know they can do well, such as Telkom Mobile which has achieved 10 quarters of market-leading service revenue growth. Another important area is Openserve, where fibre-related services now contribute 82% of revenue. As the overall revenue mix changes, the impact on margins is clear to see. Top-line revenue growth doesn't mean much unless profits are heading in the right direction, hence why the market is enjoying the mix story at the moment rather than punishing Telkom for a revenue growth story that is still below inflation. It took a number of decisive strategies for Telkom to finally reach this point. But it doesn't feel like they bet the farm along the way, or tried to step into an area where they are up against the strongest international competitors. This is the difference to MultiChoice and it may well be the deciding factor in whether MultiChoice's evolutionary story ends in success like Telkom or in a costly failure for Canal+ – assuming that deal goes ahead, of course. DM
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Multichoice considers offering sports-only subscription package
SuperSport channels may soon be available as a stand-alone subscription offering from MultiChoice. The satellite television service, which operates across several African countries, offers exclusive viewing of major sports matches and events via the SuperSport channels. SuperSport airs sports matches and events such as the Formula One, English Premier League, United Rugby Championship and all Springbok and Proteas matches. Currently, an estimated 3.5 million households across Africa access SuperSport via the DStv platform. Speaking to Jan Vermeulen, editor at says this move was inevitable, given how MultiChoice have been losing subscribers over the last few years.
The South African
6 days ago
- Business
- The South African
DStv bleeds 6 300 subscribers PER DAY over the last 12 months
MultiChoice has reported a major slump in its subscriber base, losing 2.3 million active DStv customers over the past year – the second consecutive year of steep decline. The drop includes 614 000 subscribers in South Africa and a further 1.73 million in the Rest of Africa, reflecting a continued deterioration in the pay-TV giant's core markets. The figures were disclosed in the group's financial results for the year ending 31 March 2025, released last week. The numbers paint a troubling picture: group revenue dropped 9% to R50.8 billion, driven largely by an 11% decline in subscription income, while trading profit fell to R4 billion. The number of 90-day active subscribers – defined as those with an active subscription within 90 days prior to the reporting date – dropped from 20.93 million in 2024 to 18.59 million in 2025. South Africa: from 8.55 million to 7.94 million from 8.55 million to 7.94 million Rest of Africa: from 12.38 million to 10.66 million That's a drop of around 6 300 per day . This trend follows last year's decline and has impacted all DStv segments – premium, mid-market, and mass-market: South Africa Premium: -10% Mid-market: -6% Mass-market: -7% Rest of Africa: Premium: -13% Mid-market: -12% Mass-market: -14% MultiChoice said the broad-based contraction reflects continued economic hardship, exacerbated by load shedding, high unemployment, and a cost-of-living crisis that has forced many households to cut back on non-essential spending like pay-TV. 'Households are struggling to make ends meet, and many have no choice but to give up their DStv subscription,' the group stated. In South Africa, DStv is also facing structural headwinds. Consumers are increasingly turning to cheaper streaming platforms, free video content, and pirated services, all of which offer greater flexibility and lower costs. 'The negative trend was evident across all three market segments, suggesting that economic hardship and affordability remain a challenge across the board,' the report noted. Even Showmax, the group's streaming arm, was not immune to financial pressures, with revenue and trading profit also declining during the period. With very few indicators of a turnaround, MultiChoice is now under pressure to reinvent itself in a changing media landscape. The company says it is focusing on improving customer experience, diversifying revenue through new business lines like fintech and insurance, and forming strategic partnerships to support growth. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
