The Box: Major Layoffs And Financial Losses for MultiChoice As Inflation Soars Across Africa
Africa: Over 100 people have lost their jobs as MultiChoice Zambia shut down many of its shops and service center outlets nationwide. In a statement, MultiChoice announced it is shutting down multiple branches as part of "a business optimization process." Most of the people losing their jobs will be those working in Eastpark Mall in Lusaka, the ECL Mall, and more to come as MultiChoice continues to close down its in-person shops. MultiChoice Zambia said the “business optimization process” will shift to full-service center agencies. The company has closed down all of its previous service centers in ECL Kitwe, Ndola Rekays, East Park, and Manda Hill. Customers will travel elsewhere until their new centers are completed. The objective of these new centers will be to “optimize and integrate customer experience by making entertainment more accessible with cutting-edge technology.”
"As a responsible corporate citizen, we have worked hard to minimize the impact of this change on our people and remain committed to supporting all staff that will be affected. The process is guided by the labor laws of Zambia,” MultiChoice Zambia said in a statement.
Amidst the large lay-offs in Zambia, MultiChoice Africa has seen a massive decline in its subscriber base. The company lost 9% of its active subscribers, with 5% in South Africa and 13% in the Rest of Africa (RoA). MultiChoice, currently in the middle of a corporate take-over and buyout process by Vivendi’s Canal+, continues to blame Eskom Holding’s “challenging consumer environment” for its “shocking” DStv subscriber losses. Regarding its RoA losses, Multichoice Africa has seen the most decline in Nigeria, Angola, and Zambia for its “worst performance,” crediting inflation for its financial struggles in these regions. MultiChoice has 7.6 million South African subscribers left. Its premium subscriber list has also taken a massive hit, with its numbers plummeting about 8% and now only 1.8 million premium subscribers left in South Africa. Due to weaker local currencies in this region, MultiChoice's revenue declined by 5% to R56 billion.
According to MultiChoice, its RoA business "faced the toughest macro-economic conditions in its core markets with high, double-digit inflation and extreme depreciation of local currencies - especially in Nigeria, Angola, Kenya and Zambia - which impacted USD revenues by 32%.”
South Africa’s large-scale broadcasting regulator, StarSat, has not renewed the Chinese-run pay-TV license. The pay-TV service started as TopTV 14 years ago and is run by On Digital Media. On Digital Media is 20%-owned by the Chinese pay-TV service StarTimes. At 20%, On Digital Media has hit its maximum allowed for a foreign country to have stake in the South African media business. StarTimes came to the rescue 10 years ago after Top TV was on the verge of collapse following controversy as the company carried a variety of pornographic TV channels. The company competes with MultiChoice’s DStv in the pay-TV space. Even after MultiChoice’s large decline in viewers, the company still has far fewer subscribers in South Africa than MultiChoice’s DStv. Because the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has not renewed On Digital Media’s broadcast license for StarSat, the pay-TV operator has been given until September 18 to close down. However, there has been no notice to staff and StarTimes is still selling StarSat decoders to new customers.
Asia: Disney+ has unveiled Korean spy thriller Tempest for its 2025 slate. It will be available exclusively on Disney+ worldwide and on Hulu in the United States. Set in modern-day Korea, the series follows Munju, a diplomat and former ambassador to the United States, and Sanho, an international special agent. Together, they set out to uncover the truth behind an attack that threatens the future stability of the Korean peninsula. Tempest stars A-listers Gianna Jun as Seo Munju and Gang Dongwon as Sanho. Gang is also an executive producer for the show. Tempest is directed by Kim Heewon, who directed Queen of Tears, Little Women, and Vincenzo. Korea’s leading martial arts director Heo Myunghaeng will also co-direct the show.
Jo Jin Woong (Entourage) has accepted a lead role in the upcoming Korean drama No Way Out: The Roulette. The thriller series is focused on a search for a prison escapee and a detective trying to protect the public from the criminal. Jo Jin Woong will play the detective. Yoo Jae Myung will join him as the criminal and Kim Moo Yeol as the criminal’s lawyer. No Way Out: The Roulette is scheduled to premiere in July on U+Mobile TV.
