Africa’s premier sports broadcaster SuperSport has had its sports rights acquisition decision moved from South Africa to France, following the acquisition of MultiChoice by Canal+ Group.
Softfootball deduced this from Oluwole Abegunde, a market research and strategy leader with about two decades of experience helping technology businesses like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google, Huawei, Ericsson, MTN Group, Airtel, Vodacom and Safaricom decode African markets and drive growth. According to his LinkedIn post, he shared the following update:
Following its $3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice, CANAL+ Group has moved SuperSport’s sports rights acquisition decision from South Africa to France, aiming to gain greater control and drive cost efficiency.
Centralising sports rights acquisition at the group enables Canal+ to negotiate global rights at scale, eliminate low-ROI content, and concentrate capital on premium, high-demand sports content that drives subscriptions and retention.
In that context, its recent exclusion of the Winter Olympics and the PDC World Darts Championship from SuperSport’s programming signals content prioritisation.
Not all sports content contributes equally to ARPU, churn reduction, or subscriber acquisition. Some serve passionate but narrow audiences. Others anchor entire subscription models.
The reality is that sports broadcasting is not merely about acquiring rights; it is more about cultural understanding, audience demand, and scheduling considerations given time zone differences.
Now, timing is also critical, as traditional pay-TV operators face increasing pressure from global streaming platforms that are investing aggressively in high-demand premium sports content, not just a plethora of sports bouquet options.
In a market where global streaming players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have deep financial firepower, Canal+’s capital discipline becomes a strategic necessity.
I expect Canal+ to exclude more niche sports content in the long term, as it is only a matter of time before more high-demand premium sports rights migrate to digital platforms. When that happens, value will drive subscriber retention, not volume.
Softfootball gathered that Groupe Canal+ successfully acquired control of MultiChoice Group as of September 2025, creating a major global media powerhouse with over 40 million subscribers across 70 countries. The deal, valued at approximately US$1.9 billion, makes MultiChoice a subsidiary, with plans to delist from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
