DStv subscribers across Africa may lose access to 12 major Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) channels from 1 January 2026 if MultiChoice and WBD fail to reach a new carriage agreement before the current deal expires on 31 December 2025.
Okay News reports that the broadcaster issued the warning on Monday through text messages sent to customers.
MultiChoice, now owned by Canal+, confirmed that negotiations with WBD are ongoing but have not yet produced a renewal deal.
The company notified subscribers that “while discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, several Warner Bros. Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from 1 January 2026.”
The channels at risk are among the most-watched on the platform, including CNN International, Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, Cartoon Network, TNT Africa, and Investigation Discovery.
Children’s favourites Cartoonito and Discovery Family, as well as Food Network, Real Time, and Travel Channel, are also part of the group.
The potential loss comes at a challenging period for MultiChoice, which has struggled with subscriber attrition across key markets.
The broadcaster has lost 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the past two financial years, including 1.2 million customers in 2025 alone.
The decline, split between South Africa and the rest of the continent, reflects rising subscription fees, changing viewing habits, and tougher economic conditions.
Nigeria remains one of the hardest-hit markets. According to figures cited by Nairametrics, MultiChoice has shed 1.4 million subscribers in Nigeria in just two years, largely due to repeated increases in subscription prices.
The looming WBD disruption will add to other upcoming content losses. Paramount Africa is set to remove BET Africa and MTV Base from 1 January 2026, while CBS Reality and CBS Justice will shut down operations entirely on 31 December 2025.
MultiChoice has not indicated when negotiations with WBD are expected to conclude, leaving millions of subscribers uncertain about the future of some of the platform’s most valuable channels.
