Africa’s pay-TV industry, once the gold standard of premium home entertainment, is battling an existential crisis. Valued at $13.68 billion in 2025, the sector faces slow projected growth to $17.5 billion by 2030 at a modest CAGR of 5.1 per cent.
- Africa’s pay-TV industry, once the gold standard of premium home entertainment, is battling an existential crisis.
- Valued at $13.68 billion in 2025, the sector faces slow projected growth to $17.5 billion by 2030 at a modest...
- Yet its growth has stagnated as consumers shift online.
- In Kenya alone, illegal streams and free-to-air channels contributed to a 76.9 per cent contraction in pay-TV usage.
Keep reading for the full breakdown on Africa — everything you need to know is covered below.
But those numbers mask deep structural cracks. Subscriber bases are shrinking, revenues are falling, and streaming platforms are transforming consumer expectations.
MultiChoice, the continent’s largest operator, embodies this sector’s highs and lows. Its recent losses offer a case study of how economic pressures, technological disruption, and changing consumer habits reshape African television.
Current landscape of pay TV in Africa
The pay-TV market in Africa serves between 47 and 55 million subscribers in 2025, up from 30.7 million in 2019. South Africa remains the most mature market, with 8.9 million subscribers in 2024 and a slow climb projected to 9.5 million by 2029. Elsewhere, growth has stalled. Penetration is high in South Africa (above 50 per cent) but remains below 20 per cent in many sub-Saharan regions.
MultiChoice dominates the industry with 14.5 million active subscribers across 50 countries, but it is even bleeding customers. In Kenya, DStv subscriptions collapsed by 84 per cent between mid-2024 and June 2025, plummeting from 1.19 million to just 188,824.
GOtv followed suit with an 88.7 per cent contraction, accounting for a staggering 3.4 million customer exodus. In Nigeria, Africa’s largest market, revenues plunged by 44 per cent in FY2025 due to naira devaluation.
Financially, the pain is evident. MultiChoice reported a 9 per cent drop in FY2025 revenues, down to $2.87 billion, swinging from profit to a headline loss of R800 million ($44 million). Although cost-cutting measures later restored a modest R1.8 billion profit, the pressure remains immense.
Its rivals face similar headwinds. StarTimes, the Chinese-backed operator serving over 30 countries, claims 20 million subscribers with its affordable digital terrestrial television (DTT) packages. Yet its growth has stagnated as consumers shift online. Canal+, a French powerhouse with roots in Europe, has aggressively expanded in Africa, culminating in a $2 billion takeover of MultiChoice in September 2025. The deal signals consolidation but also underlines how troubled the sector has become.
Why pay TV is declining:
The downturn is driven by a perfect storm of economic hardship, technological disruption, and shifting consumer behaviour. Inflation averaging 15–20 per cent across sub-Saharan Africa in 2025 has eroded household budgets.
Currency devaluations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya raised content acquisition costs, forcing operators to increase subscription fees. In Kenya, a 4–7 per cent price hike in August 2025 pushed DStv Premium to KES 11,700 ($85) a month, a figure many middle-class families could no longer justify.
Technological disruption has been even more decisive. Africa now hosts more than 560 streaming platforms, with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) revenues projected to hit $5.4 billion in 2025.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video lead global entries, while regional platforms such as Showmax, MultiChoice’s streaming service, grew subscribers by 38 per cent last year. The affordability is striking: Netflix’s mobile-only plans in parts of Africa cost just $3–5 per month, undercutting satellite TV. Broadband penetration reached 40 per cent in 2025, and with 5G expanding in urban hubs, consumers now prefer flexible on-demand viewing on mobile devices over expensive linear packages.
Consumer preferences have also evolved. Many younger viewers favour short-form content on TikTok or Instagram Reels over scheduled programming. Piracy, meanwhile, continues to undermine the industry. In Kenya alone, illegal streams and free-to-air channels contributed to a 76.9 per cent contraction in pay-TV usage.
Content exclusivity, once the sector’s trump card, is eroding. The English Premier League, long MultiChoice’s prized asset, has opened up to digital partnerships, weakening DStv’s monopoly.
While MultiChoice dominates headlines, Canal+, StarTimes, and the competitive field, it is not alone in navigating this upheaval. Canal+, now MultiChoice’s majority owner, has its own ambitions: using its financial strength to integrate African operations into a broader global streaming push.
Its acquisition gives it access to 50 African markets but also saddles it with MultiChoice’s churn problem. Analysts suggest Canal+ may leverage synergies with Showmax, local content production, and bundled offers to restore competitiveness.
StarTimes, meanwhile, has built its base on affordability, particularly in rural and low-income markets. Its strategy of pushing digital terrestrial TV over satellite helped it expand to 20 million subscribers. But with internet access rising, its low-tech model faces limits. Similarly, giants and digital platforms squeeze smaller players like Azam TV in East Africa.
Possible pathways forward
For African pay-TV operators, survival hinges on reinvention. A hybrid model blending linear television with streaming is increasingly seen as the way forward. MultiChoice’s Showmax demonstrates that digital growth is possible: its 38 per cent subscriber rise in 2025 shows consumers still value curated, localised content, if priced and delivered right. Bundling services with telecom operators, including data packages for streaming, could also expand reach.
Pricing innovation will be critical. Unbundled sports subscriptions, ad-supported tiers, or low-cost mobile plans could help operators stem losses. For instance, in South Africa, surveys show 40 per cent of cancellations were cost-driven, suggesting a market for more affordable options rather than total abandonment.
Investment in local content remains essential. Nollywood in Nigeria, Afrofuturist storytelling in South Africa, and Swahili dramas in East Africa all have strong audiences. By emphasising regional stories, pay-TV providers can distinguish themselves from global streamers. Partnerships with regulators to curb piracy, and with the African Union to expand broadband and spectrum access, will also shape long-term resilience.
A sector at a crossroads
Africa’s pay-TV industry is no longer the unchallenged gateway to entertainment it once was. With millions of subscribers lost, revenues squeezed, and consumer habits shifting, the sector faces a defining moment.
MultiChoice’s struggles illustrate the depth of the challenge and the possibilities for adaptation. Canal+’s acquisition may provide fresh capital and strategic direction, but even this lifeline may not suffice without aggressive innovation.
Satellite television retains a role, especially in areas with poor internet access. Yet the momentum clearly lies with streaming and digital platforms. By 2029, analysts predict pay-TV subscriptions may still edge up to 55 million, but the real growth will come from internet-driven, on-demand services. For operators, the choice is stark: embrace the future of hybrid entertainment, or risk being left behind.