1.8 million more subscribers drop DStv

On Tuesday, MultiChoice revealed its troubling financial results for the six months ending 30 September 2024.

The results showed that another 1.8 million subscribers – including 400 000 in South Africa – have dumped the pay-TV operator.

The troubled company said it is facing “the most challenging operating conditions in almost 40 years”.

The news no doubt would have brought a smile to France’s Canal+ who, if reports are to be believed, are closing in on an aggressive takeover of the company.

MultiChoice’s results showed that on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the linear subscriber base declined by 11% – or 1.8 million – to 14.9 million active subscribers.

A year ago MultiChoice’s DStv and other subscribers stood at 16.7 million.

MultiChoice’s subscriber loss was 5% in South Africa (down to 7.4 million from 7.8 million) and 15% in the Rest of Africa (RoA).

Staggering headline loss

In further bad news, the Randburg-based media group posted a staggering headline loss of R1.8 billion for six month period, extending losses by almost 50% from the same period last year.

Group revenue was down 11% to R24.8 billion, with operating profit down 49% to R2.45 billion.

According to the group, the headline loss comes from “unprecedented foreign exchange pressures and economic challenges in key markets”, which impacted its earnings and dampened subscriber growth.

The group’s revenue decline was mainly impacted by foreign exchange pressures on the rest of Africa’s business and a stronger rand against the US dollar.

While Showmax showed a 50% increase year-on-year in its paying number of subscribers, MultiChoice’s video streaming service increased its loss from R799 million to R2.4 billion.

Showmax’s revenue plunged from R704 million to R469 million.