CANAL+’s $2 billion-plus acquisition of MultiChoice is now showing up clearly in the numbers.
First half 2026 group revenue rose 40% year on year to €4,287 million, and adjusted EBIT before exceptional items climbed 68% to €433 million, gains the group credits to cost synergies from the deal and to a subscriber boost from the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MultiChoice’s South African business.
“Following the acquisition of MultiChoice, our increased scale is starting to deliver the benefits we expected,” CEO Maxime Saada said in unveiling the results on Tuesday. “We have achieved half of our €250 million synergies target and remain well on track for the year, and we confirm our full-year and medium-term guidance.”
Saada described the enlarged group elsewhere as a global media and entertainment company anchored in Europe and Africa, and CFO Amandine Ferré pointed to continued cash optimisation work across the group as a factor in the strong cash conversion for the half.
Africa now carries real weight in the group’s numbers
Africa and Asia, the segment that includes MultiChoice, delivered some of the strongest profitability gains in the group. Revenue for the region grew 1.2% like for like to €1,723 million, while adjusted EBIT jumped 21% to €269 million, lifting the margin from 13.1% to 15.6%. Subscribers in the region grew 7% to 22.6 million, helped by the World Cup.
| Africa segment | Revenue H1 2026 | Adjusted EBIT H1 2026 | Margin H1 2026 | Margin H1 2025 | Subscriber base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa & Asia (incl. MultiChoice) | €1,723M | €269M | 15.6% | 13.1% | 22.6M (+7%) |
| Africa & Asia (excl. MultiChoice) | €563M | €126M | 22.3% | 22.6% | 9.4M (+17%) |
| MultiChoice standalone | €1,184M | €143M | 12.1% | 8.7% | 13.2M (+1%) |
CANAL+’s existing African operations, excluding MultiChoice, are running at a much higher margin than MultiChoice itself, a gap the group is now closing through cost cuts rather than new investment.
Subscriber acquisition up 40% on the World Cup and marketing push
CANAL+ said subscriber acquisition was up 40% compared with the first half of 2025 in MultiChoice countries, and that June was the best subscriber acquisition month in South Africa in a decade.
The company pointed to its World Cup advertising campaign featuring Idris Elba and the launch of the Novelas+ channel in South Africa as key drivers. On the pitch, South Africa’s national team advanced from the group stage before losing to Canada in its opening knockout round match, a run that still gave local audiences a reason to stay tuned through June.
BNP Paribas analyst Nicolas Langlet struck an optimistic note on the trend, writing that momentum at MultiChoice had “improved sequentially,” driven by the World Cup and the early effects of the group’s growth plan, and that the reinvestment strategy should support subscriber growth into year end.
Country level gains: Kenya, Uganda and South Africa lead
The clearest evidence of the turnaround sits at country level, where CANAL+ used the group’s combined scale to cut equipment costs and expand its retail footprint.
| Market | Metric | Change | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | Combined price of set top box and dish | Down 22% | March to June 2026 |
| Uganda | Number of points of sale | Up 17% | March to June 2026 |
| South Africa | Monthly subscriber acquisitions | Best month in a decade | June 2026 |
| MultiChoice markets (all) | Points of sale | Up 15% | Versus March 2026 |
| MultiChoice markets (all) | New subscriber acquisitions | Up 40% | H1 2026 vs H1 2025 |
Price renegotiations with suppliers, made possible by the group’s larger combined scale, combined with direct subscriber subsidies to lower the cost of getting connected. CANAL+ also chose not to raise subscription prices in markets where increases would typically be considered around May.
StudioCanal builds on box office momentum
Saada called it an excellent six months on and off screen for StudioCanal, pointing to box office hits including Guru in France and Pressure in the United States. He said the studio’s pipeline, including Paddington 4, Zack Snyder’s remake of Escape From New York, the group’s first major South African production The Road Home, and Danny Boyle’s Ink, should keep that momentum going.
The content, production and distribution segment, which covers StudioCanal and Dailymotion, saw revenue rise 9.9% in the first half. Reported commentary on the results put adjusted EBIT down 3% for the segment, though the underlying figures in CANAL+’s own results deck show adjusted EBIT falling from €30 million to €28 million, a decline closer to 7%. Worth confirming which figure your final piece should carry before publishing.
What to watch in H2
Management flagged that some of the half’s strength will not repeat. The World Cup subscriber boost in Africa, favourable content cost timing, and beneficial payment phasing all supported H1 results and are expected to partly reverse in the second half. MultiChoice’s own boost plan investments are also weighted more heavily toward H2.
Group guidance for full year 2026 remains flat revenue, adjusted EBIT of €735 million, and free cash flow above €250 million before the VAT settlement and restructuring costs. Over the medium term, CANAL+ is targeting adjusted EBIT above €850 million and free cash flow above €500 million, and management said it expects to rebuild MultiChoice’s subscriber base to more than 17 million within three to five years.
