French billionaire Vincent Bolloré's Canal+ posts $7.2 billion nine-month revenue

Canal+, the French pay-TV group backed by billionaire Vincent Bolloré's family, said revenue rose 37.5% to €6.41 billion ($7.2 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, lifted by the first full period of results from South Africa's MultiChoice, which it bought last year.

The Paris-based company said on Thursday that revenue was up 1% on a comparable basis that includes MultiChoice in both years, and down 0.3% when currency moves and changes to the group are stripped out. Third-quarter revenue came to €2.13 billion ($2.39 billion), up 1.9% on a comparable reported basis.

MultiChoice, the owner of the DStv and GOtv pay-TV services, remains the weak spot. Its revenue fell 3% on a like-for-like basis to €1.81 billion ($2.02 billion) in the nine months, mainly because of lower subscription income in South Africa. The decline eased to 2% in the third quarter, from 3.4% in the first half, and a strong positive currency effect left reported revenue up 0.4%.

"We are making good progress with the MultiChoice turnaround plan," Maxime Saada, the chief executive of Canal+, said in the statement. "We remain well on track to achieve our 2026 synergies target and deliver our full-year guidance."

Africa now 41% of revenue

Its Africa and Asia division more than tripled revenue to €2.6 billion ($2.92 billion), about 41% of the group total. Excluding MultiChoice, revenue in the region rose 10.2% like-for-like, driven by the French-speaking African markets where Canal+ has sold pay TV for decades. Revenue in Europe fell 1.4% to €3.36 billion ($3.77 billion).

Subscribers in Africa and Asia stood at 22.6 million at the end of June, out of 41.2 million across the group. Canal+ did not give updated subscriber numbers on Thursday. It said the MultiChoice customer base "normalised" in the third quarter after a lift from the FIFA World Cup in the first half.

In September, MultiChoice replaced its old DStv packages in South Africa with five new bundles that give customers more content at the same price. Its Premium package costs R799 ($48) a month on a 24-month contract, compared with R979 ($59) month to month. Saada said the new offers will be rolled out across English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa over the coming months. New DStv and GOtv packages are expected in Nigeria from Oct. 27.

MultiChoice shut its Showmax streaming service at the end of April, and Canal+ now reports it as a discontinued business. The service lost €52 million ($58 million) at the adjusted operating level in the first half of 2025.

Guidance unchanged

Canal+ kept its forecasts for 2026. It expects flat revenue, adjusted operating profit of €735 million ($824 million), cash flow from operations above €600 million and free cash flow above €250 million, before a VAT settlement and restructuring costs. It is targeting €250 million ($280 million) of cost savings from combining with MultiChoice this year.

The company also secured exclusive rights to UEFA men's club competitions in more than 40 countries from 2027 to 2031, and rights across Africa for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifiers. In France, it is fighting a proposed increase in value-added tax on pay-TV subscriptions and said it would raise prices and cut costs sharply if the measure becomes law.

The Bolloré stake

The Bolloré group owns 30.4% of Canal+, making it the largest shareholder. Canal+ was spun out of Vivendi and listed in London in December 2024, and it added a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in June. Bolloré, 74, built his family's fortune in logistics, plantations and media, and his son Cyrille now runs the Bolloré group.

Canal+ took control of MultiChoice in September 2025 after a takeover that needed approval from South African regulators. To meet the country's rules on foreign ownership of broadcasters, MultiChoice's South African licence was moved into a separate company controlled by local investors.