MultiChoice faces another headache at the end of 2025, with stalled negotiations over a new carriage deal for Warner Bros Discovery’s bouquet of channels threatening a New Year blackout for DStv subscribers.
The stand-off piles pressure on the pay-TV group just as four Paramount Global channels are already confirmed to switch off on 31 December.
According to reports, MultiChoice has confirmed that its distribution agreement with Warner Bros Discovery ends on 31 December 2025, and that “no agreement has been reached at this stage”.
The company told subscribers it aims to offer “the best entertainment experience at the best possible pricing”, adding:
“Every time you subscribe, you trust us with your money.”
Which Warner Bros Discovery channels on DStv are in danger?
If talks fail, DStv could lose 12 linear channels carried across South Africa and the rest of Africa:
- Discovery Channel
- Cartoonito
- Cartoon Network
- CNN International
- Food Network
- TNT
- TLC
- Investigation Discovery (ID)
- Real Time
- HGTV
- Discovery Family
- Travel Channel
Scripted series and movies licensed separately for M-Net channels and Showmax fall under different agreements, so HBO titles such as House of the Dragon are not directly tied to this carriage dispute.
Why the talks have hit a stalemate
While details are murky, the mass channel loss, reports suggest, is linked to pricing and bundling rather than technical issues.
Canal+, which now controls MultiChoice, is driving aggressive cost-cutting at the group after years of subscriber losses, and may be unwilling to pay historic rates for the same bouquet.
Warner Bros Discovery, for its part, has not yet agreed to MultiChoice’s terms. The company noted in a statement that it “deeply values its long-standing partnership” with DStv but “has not yet reached a mutual agreement” to keep its brands on the platform beyond 31 December.
It says it remains “unequivocally committed to finding a resolution”.
Channel carriage deals are typically sold as bundles where a platform pays per subscriber for a package of networks. Both sides can clash over which brands are “must-take” and how much they are worth in a market where linear viewing is under pressure from streaming.
MultiChoice’s message to subscribers
MultiChoice is already signalling that it is prepared to drop the bouquet if the numbers don’t work. In its note to customers, the company said it is “preparing to further strengthen and enrich its line-up with new content, channels and services” and that viewers will continue to enjoy “an exceptional entertainment experience… supported by strong alternative channels across every genre” even if the Warner Bros Discovery networks disappear.
At the same time, the pay-TV operator insists discussions are ongoing, leaving open the possibility of a late deal similar to the last-minute agreement that kept Warner Bros Discovery’s channels on Sky in the UK after a tense 2024 negotiation.
A bigger pattern of pressure on DStv
The potential loss of the Warner Bros Discovery bouquet comes on top of confirmed cuts: Paramount Africa’s BET Africa, MTV Base, CBS Justice and CBS Reality will all go dark on DStv at the end of December.
Behind the scenes, Canal+ has been forcing through cost reductions at MultiChoice, including a controversial instruction that suppliers cut invoices by 20%, which nearly disrupted SuperSport broadcasts and even basic operations at the Johannesburg headquarters.
Over the past year, DStv has shed around 1.4 million subscribers across Africa, and billions have been sunk into the loss-making Showmax streaming service with no clear path yet from the new Canal+ Africa leadership.
If no new deal is signed by 31 December 2025, Warner Bros Discovery’s 12 channels will be removed from DStv and GOtv from 1 January 2026. MultiChoice says it will attempt to plug gaps with alternative channels, but long-time subscribers could lose news, kids’, factual and lifestyle brands that have been part of the platform for decades – in some cases since DStv’s launch in 1995.
