Canal+ has struck a major distribution partnership with Samsung that will see MultiChoice’s DStv Stream app pre-installed directly on new Samsung smart TVs across Africa, marking a significant shift in how the group plans to reach viewers as satellite television gives way to streaming.
From June 1, DStv Stream is being pre-installed on all new Samsung smart TVs sold across 18 English- and Portuguese-speaking African markets, including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Canal+ described it as the first pre-installation of a MultiChoice streaming app in these markets, extending an existing arrangement with Samsung that already covers 40 markets across Europe, French-speaking Africa, and Asia.
What this means in practice is simple. Anyone who buys a new Samsung smart TV in one of these markets will find DStv Stream already sitting on the home screen, right alongside apps like Netflix and YouTube, with no need to search for it or download anything separately.
Read also: MultiChoice loses 57,000 DStv and Gotv subscribers in Kenya between January and March 2026
The timing is deliberate. DStv Stream carries the full FIFA World Cup 2026, the English Premier League, and domestic and international rugby, as well as general entertainment content. Launching the pre-installation weeks into the World Cup puts the app in front of millions of new TV owners exactly when football viewership is at its highest.
Why this partnership is big for DStv
This move is part of a broader consolidation Canal+ has been carrying out since completing its takeover of MultiChoice last year.
The company recently shut down its loss-making Showmax service and folded that content into DStv Stream, creating a single streaming hub rather than running multiple competing platforms.
Pre-loading that hub directly onto one of the most popular smart TV brands on the continent is the next logical step, capturing viewers right where they are already watching, rather than waiting for them to seek out a satellite dish or download an app.
David Mignot, CEO of Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice Group, said the Samsung partnership reflects the group’s adaptation to changing viewing habits. Making content easier to find on connected devices, he said, is now central to the company’s strategy.
The signal here is clear. DStv’s future is increasingly tied to an app on a smart TV remote rather than a dish bolted to a rooftop. For a company built on satellite broadcasting for decades, that is a meaningful and necessary pivot, one being made just as streaming adoption accelerates across African households with growing access to connected televisions.
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