CANAL+ to Cut Staff at MultiChoice via Severance Package

CANAL+ plans to reduce staff at its African pay-TV subsidiary MultiChoice through voluntary severance as part of a $115 million turnaround investment. The French media giant disclosed this in its first combined annual report, aiming to accelerate MultiChoice's return to sustainable growth by improving content, pricing, customer acquisition, and operational efficiency. MultiChoice has approximately 6,900 permanent employees across 50 African markets, though the exact number of roles to be cut remains undisclosed. The restructuring will also affect IRDETO, MultiChoice's technology and cybersecurity unit. While CANAL+ pledges $115 million for content and customer acquisition, the staff reduction signals immediate cost discipline and operational consolidation priorities. This follows the March 5 closure of Showmax, MultiChoice's African streaming platform after 11 years, as part of a strategic shift toward digital sustainability amid intense competition from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and piracy. MultiChoice faces pressure in markets like Kenya (7M piracy visits), South Africa (5M), Ghana (2.4M), Nigeria (2.3M), and Tanzania (626K), where piracy sites recorded 17.4 million visits in 2025.

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/03/17/canal-job-cuts-multichoice-turnaround/