MultiChoice may remove 11 channels from DStv as new distribution deal with Warner Bros stalls

MultiChoice Group says 11 television channels will no longer be available to customers on DStv from December 31.

The pay-TV firm announced the development in a recent notice to subscribers.

The company said the affected channels are Discovery Channel, TLC Africa, Discovery Family, Real Time, TNT Africa, and Food Network.

The organisation said Travel Channel, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito and CNN International will also not be available from 23:59 CAT on the aforementioned date.

Explaining the rationale for the discontinuation in a statement to TheCable on Thursday, MultiChoice said its distribution agreement with Warner Bros. for the channels will end on December 31, 2025.

Warner Bros. is an American film and entertainment company founded in 1923. It is known for producing motion pictures, television shows, and video games.

The pay-TV firm said no new distribution agreement has been reached with the American conglomerate yet.

“Should this remain the case, these channels will no longer form part of the DStv lineup from 1 January 2026,” MultiChoice said.

“We can confidently assure that customers will continue to enjoy a rich, diverse and growing entertainment offering.

“MultiChoice has extensive content partnerships across the world, giving us flexibility and capacity to enhance our packages with fresh content, new channels and new services in the year ahead — because we care about offering our customers the best experience at the best possible price.

“Viewers can explore a wide range of news, lifestyle, kids and general entertainment channels including: Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, NickToons, DreamWorks, Nick Jr., Disney Jr., Moonbug, CBeebies, Jim Jam, National Geographic, History Channel, Curiosity Channel, Bravo, MTV, BBC Lifestyle, MovieRoom, M-Net Movies 4, Studio Universal, BBC News, Sky News and Al Jazeera.”

The implication is that all 11 channels will be completely removed from the DStv platform by year end if the firms fail to reach a new deal.

MultiChoice is currently under new ownership after Canal+ Group, a French TV channel, acquired a majority stake in the pay-TV firm.

On September 22, Canal+ restructured the board of MultiChoice, after taking over the South African firm.

With the acquisition, Canal+ now directly owns 46 percent of MultiChoice shares, with an additional 2.2 percent secured through shareholder acceptances.

Prior to the acquisition, MultiChoice had been battling a shrinking subscriber base in its Nigerian operations for over a year.

The African pay-TV company, in its audited results for the year ended March 31, 2025, had disclosed that its Nigerian operation lost 1.4 million subscribers in the last two years.