Africa’s largest pay-TV operator, fresh after acquiring MultiChoice, has turned its expansion drive to Europe with a new partnership with global electronics brand Thomson.
The Paris-based entertainment group, now boasting nearly 40 million subscribers worldwide across almost 70 countries, announced yesterday that the Canal+ App will be pre-installed on all new Thomson Smart TVs across Europe, including the latest models powered by TiVo.
Philippe Schwerer, EVP Industrial Partnerships & New Business, CANAL+, revealed that the deal also includes a dedicated Canal+ button on Thomson remote controls, giving users direct, instant access to the group’s extensive library of films, series, and live content.
“This strategic partnership with the Thomson brand highlights our unwavering commitment to expanding access to the CANAL+ App. For the first time across all our European markets, our subscribers will enjoy simplified, instant access to all their content at the touch of the CANAL+ button on their remote control,” he said.
According to Schwerer, the partnership that cements Canal+’s ambition to become a truly global media powerhouse is the latest chapter in the streaming titan’s global expansion story, one that began over 30 years ago in Africa, where the company has built a deep and enduring presence.
The operator is the undisputed number one pay-TV provider in 19 Francophone African countries, offering more than 400 channels, including 250 local and French-language channels, and employing over 17 000 people across the continent.
Following its September 2025 takeover of MultiChoice, the media giant has leapfrogged to the top spot as Africa’s largest entertainment group, blending its dominance in Francophone Africa with MultiChoice’s vast footprint in English- and Portuguese-speaking markets.
The merger united DStv, GOtv, Showmax, M-Net, and SuperSport with Canal+’s global portfolio, creating a media behemoth that now reaches tens of millions of African households from Lagos to Luanda and Johannesburg to Abidjan.
For African content creators, the implications signal exciting times with promises of more work and growth. The expanded Canal+ network sets the platform to amplify the reach of African stories, investing in local film, drama, and sports production while opening new pathways for distribution into Europe and beyond.
“From Africa to Europe, through Asia-Pacific and overseas, Canal+ helps to bring out and promote all cultures,” said Jacques du Puy, a member of the group’s management board.
For their part, Thomson brings over 130 years of technological innovation, offering one of the widest ranges of consumer electronics globally.
Its collaboration with Canal+ extends beyond technology, with joint marketing campaigns and co-branded packaging expected to enhance the dominant African pay TV’s visibility in European living rooms.
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