Canal+ MultiChoice earnings lift half-year revenue 40%
Canal+ said its $2 billion MultiChoice takeover pushed first-half revenue to €4.29 billion, with cost savings already showing up.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Canal+ MultiChoice earnings got a sharp boost in the first half, with the French pay-TV group saying its $2 billion takeover of Africa’s MultiChoice helped lift unaudited group revenue by 40% to €4.29 billion, or $4.88 billion.
The jump looks far smaller without the African business. Canal+ said revenue growth would have been 1.4% year on year excluding MultiChoice, compared with €3.07 billion in the same period of 2025.
Adjusted EBIT before exceptional items rose 68% to €433 million from €257 million, giving the group a 10.1% margin. Canal+ said that, stripping out MultiChoice, adjusted EBIT growth was 13%.
How did MultiChoice affect Canal+ earnings?
MultiChoice is the African pay-TV company Canal+ bought last year in a $2 billion deal. Canal+ said the added scale from the acquisition is already feeding into its numbers, especially through cost savings.
Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said the company has achieved half of its €250 million synergies target and remains on track for the year. He also said Canal+ was confirming its full-year and medium-term guidance.
The company has been cutting costs in Africa since the deal. Canal+ previously discontinued Showmax, and its first-half figures showed the streamer lost €52 million in the first half of 2025 on revenue of €23 million.
At MultiChoice, adjusted EBIT rose 160% to €143 million from €55 million a year earlier, according to Canal+. The company attributed that mainly to €120 million of synergies, including the effect of closing Showmax.
Canal+ also said subscriber acquisition in MultiChoice countries was up 40% from the first half of 2025, with June described by the company as the strongest month in a decade.
What else did Canal+ report?
The earnings update landed hours after Canal+ pledged more than €980 million to French and European cinema over five years in a new agreement with French entertainment bodies.
Saada said Studiocanal, Canal+’s production arm, had a strong first half. He cited theatrical titles including Guru in France and Pressure in the U.S., as well as The Midnight Library, which sold to Paramount for $36 million after Cannes 2026.
The content production, distribution and other division, which includes Studiocanal and Dailymotion, reported €356 million in revenue, up 9.9% year on year. The segment made up 7.8% of Canal+ revenue, down from 9.3% last year, while adjusted EBIT slipped 3% to €28 million.
Saada pointed to an upcoming Studiocanal slate that includes Paddington 4, Zack Snyder’s remake of Escape From New York, the South African production The Road Home and Danny Boyle’s Ink.
At group level, Saada said a cost review in France in 2025 was helping the business, alongside stronger direct-to-consumer subscriber acquisition, lower churn and a shift toward streaming in Poland.
In Africa, Canal+ said adjusted EBIT was up 9% excluding MultiChoice, helped by pay-TV growth and other factors. The company said its MultiChoice turnaround is underway, pointing to a long-term rights deal for South Africa’s Premier Soccer League, Rugby World Cup rights in 2027 and 2029 across sub-Saharan Africa, and productions including The Road Home, Heist of Benin and an adaptation of Americanah.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.