Multichoice Group, a pay-TV operator, is considering implementing a weekly subscription model in all of its markets, including Nigeria, should the Ugandan pilot program prove successful.
Calvo Mawela, the CEO of MultiChoice Group, told South Africa’s Sunday Times that the trial, launched seven weeks ago in Uganda, could be expanded to other African markets within three to six months depending on its results.
According to Mawela, the pilot is intended to match subscription payments with consumers’ cash flow patterns, especially in markets where users receive daily or weekly income.
“It’s a big change, and we think when people are struggling, as we have seen, offering them weekly passes will help, in the same way, prepaid mobile services changed the telecoms industry,” he said.
Customisable channel packages
Mawela also responded to long-standing consumer requests for channel packages that could be customised.
Although he did not rule out a full à la carte option, he stated that MultiChoice is exploring a model in which customers begin with a basic package and then add particular channels as required.
MultiChoice, which has experienced a sharp drop in subscribers, particularly in South Africa and Nigeria, stated that it might also unbundle its sports channels into a different subscription package in an effort to keep users.
Last week, Mawela was asked if the company considered separating its sports channels into a different package after presenting the group’s results.
“As part of our product offering, we have always had this project that we ran every year where we look at our packaging structures, similar to what Sky did some years back where they had a basic package, they had a sports package on the side (and) they had a general entertainment package on the side,” Mawela said.
MultiChoice’s financial results
The company’s most recent financial results show a period of upheaval. MultiChoice reported an R2.02 billion net profit for the year that ended on March 31, 2025, which was a significant improvement over the R2.52 billion loss from the year before.
The sale of a 60 percent share in its insurance division to Sanlam in November 2024 was a major factor in the swing.
However, an 11 percent decline in subscription revenues was the primary cause of the nine percent annual decline in overall group revenue.
Operations in the Rest of Africa and its streaming platform, Showmax, were under significant pressure despite the South African market demonstrating some resilience, with revenue increasing marginally to R41.73 billion.
The RoA was under pressure because of a steady drop in subscribers. In 2025, according to the company’s results, the RoA had 7.5 million subscribers, down from 9.3 million in 2023, after losing 1.8 million subscribers in the previous two years.
Nigeria lost 1.4 million customers in the last two years, accounting for 77 per cent of this loss.