South Africa Reviews Canal+–MultiChoice Deal Amid Showmax Concerns

South Africa’s Competition Commission is moving to scrutinise how Groupe Canal+ is running MultiChoice after its takeover, with a particular focus on the abrupt shutdown of streaming service Showmax.

The investigation will examine whether Canal+ is complying with the merger conditions that underpinned regulatory approval of its MultiChoice acquisition. Those conditions covered areas such as local ownership, competition, and wider public-interest obligations.

Showmax’s shutdown has become a flashpoint in South Africa’s media and entertainment landscape. Beyond being “just another” video-on-demand platform, it was a significant outlet for South African storytelling and locally produced content.

Its closure, along with broader cost-cutting measures at MultiChoice, has raised alarms about potential job losses, shrinking opportunities for local creatives, and a market increasingly dominated by foreign-owned streaming platforms. These concerns are central to why competition authorities now want to closely review Canal+’s post-merger decisions.

Lawmaker pressure has been building. South Africa’s Parliament, through its communications committee, has already called for deeper scrutiny of both the Showmax shutdown and Canal+’s overall strategy for MultiChoice. The committee has scheduled oversight visits to broadcasters such as e.tv and MultiChoice to get a clearer view of the operational and market impact on the ground.

Policymakers are particularly interested in whether production and investment are being shifted in ways that disadvantage the local ecosystem, and whether commitments linked to the merger approval are being upheld.

The Commission’s probe also shines a light on how Canal+ structured its path to control. To navigate South Africa’s foreign ownership limits for broadcasters, enforced by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), Canal+ configured the deal so that its voting rights in MultiChoice were capped at 20%, even while it held a larger economic stake.

That structure allowed Canal+ to exercise effective control without triggering certain regulatory thresholds associated with higher foreign voting ownership. While the approach cleared the way for the acquisition, it is now drawing renewed attention from policymakers and regulators.

The key question is whether this arrangement, and the decisions made since the takeover, align with both the letter and spirit of South Africa’s ownership and competition rules – especially as they relate to maintaining local influence over major broadcasting assets and protecting domestic content industries.

The Showmax shutdown has become the most visible outcome of Canal+’s stewardship so far, making it a focal point for debates about media consolidation, cultural sovereignty, and the future of locally controlled streaming in an increasingly globalised market.