The $2B acquisition of Africa’s MultiChoice has helped Canal+ post higher half-year revenues and earnings.
Unaudited total group revenues saw revenues grow 40% to €4.29 billion ($4.88 billion), though without MultiChoice the growth shrinks to just 1.4% year-on-year compared to 2025’s €3.07B.
Similarly, adjusted EBIT (before exceptional items) was up 68% to €433M, from €257M, and had a 10.1% margin. Excluding MultiChoice, the number drops to 13% growth.
The market update comes just hours after London-listed Canal+ pledged more than €980M to French and European cinema over five years in a fresh deal with French entertainment bodies. The news was heralded as of unprecedented length for the Paris-based pay-TV giant.
Canal+ this morning revealed it had hit its target of €250M in synergies resulting from its takeover of African pay-TV giant MultiChoice last year.
The company has sought to significantly reduce costs in Africa since the buyout, with streamer Showmax discontinued earlier this year in one move that shocked the local industry. The H1 figures reveal Showmax made a €52M loss in H1 of 2025 on revenues of €23M.
“Following the acquisition of MultiChoice, our increased scale is starting to deliver the benefits we expected,” said Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada. “We have achieved half of our €250M synergies target and remain well on track for the year, and we confirm our full-year and medium-term guidance.”
Canal+’s production arm, Studiocanal, had an “excellent six months on and off screen,” according to Saada, who pointed theatrical successes such as Guru in France and Pressure in the US, and the biggest film deal at Cannes 2026, for The Midnight Library, which sold to Paramount for $36M.
The content production, distribution and other segment, which includes Studiocanal and streamer Dailymotion, posted revenues of €356M, up 9.9% YoY. This accounted for 7.8% of Canal+’s overall revenues, down from 9.3% last year. Adjusted EBIT was €28M, which was 3% lower than 2025.
“With a slate including Paddington 4, Zack Snyder’s remake of Escape From New York, our first major South African film production, The Road Home, and Danny Boyle’s Ink, Studiocanal’s momentum looks set to continue,” he added.
Back at group level, Saada pointed a systematic review of costs in France last year 2025 was benefitting finances, along with “strong D2C subscriber acquisition and lower churn, plus an ongoing shift to streaming in Poland.
In Africa, adjusted EBIT was up 9% excluding MultiChoice, driven by pay-TV growth among other factors.
Canal+ said its “turnaround” of MultiChoice was underway and pointed to a long-term rights deal for the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, the 2027 men’s and 2029 women’s rugby world cups across sub-Saharan Africa and a production slate including The Road Home, Heist of Benin and a screen adaptation of bestselling novel Americanah
Subscriber acquisition was up 40% in MultiChoice countries compared to H1 2025 in MultiChoice countries, with June the best month “in a decade.” Adjusted EBIT at MultiChoice was up 160% to €143M, from €55M a year ago. This was primarily put down to synergies of €120M, including the impact of Showmax’s discontinuation.
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