science

MultiChoice

MultiChoice is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MultiChoice rather than just read about it. In short: MultiChoice is a South African company, owned by French media conglomerate Canal+, that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also operates GOtv, a minor terrestrial TV service operating in 9 countries, and formerly Showmax, a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service.

Key takeaways

MultiChoice belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MultiChoice to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MultiChoice from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MultiChoice is a South African company, owned by French media conglomerate Canal+, that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also operates GOtv, a minor terrestrial TV service operating in 9 countries, and formerly Showmax, a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service.

Overview MultiChoice was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay television company, and broadcasts the full range of M-Net channels on the DStv service. MultiChoice is owned by the media conglomerate of the same name. One of the subsidiaries of MultiChoice is DStv Stream, formally DStv Now then DStv App, a service that delivers television transmission to mobile devices such as laptops, smart phones and notebooks. Formerly under NetHold, it had operations in the Scandinavian, Benelux, Central Europe, Greek & Cypriot regions under the Filmnet TV service, Italy via Telepiù, Egypt under CNE (Cable Network of Egypt), Middle East under Gulf TV and Arab Radio and Television Network & Thailand under UBC (United Broadcasting Corporation). In 2020, MultiChoice had a total subscriber base of 20.1 million viewers throughout Africa, and Naspers asserted that MultiChoice was one of the fastest growing pay-TV operators globally.

History

Early years (1983–1991) In 1983, Koos Bekker wrote a paper at Columbia University describing the idea that led to M-Net, and along with two others pitched the idea to Naspers, which acquired a 26% share, leading to Naspers executive Ton Vosloo serving as chair of the board. M-Net lost money in its first few years.

Expansion (1992–2017) In 1993, M-Net was divided into two divisions, one focused on transmission of the entertainment channels and the other on cellphone operations, signal distribution and subscriber management. This second division became MultiChoice. The company had been granted a licence to broadcast into Namibia in 1991 and, as a result, in 1996 MultiChoice Africa was established. In 1992, analogue services were launched in 20 African countries and lasted until 1996 when digital services replaced them. This division, called DStv (Digital Satellite Television), had first been launched in South Africa on October 6, 1995, making it the first direct-to-home digital pay-TV service outside the US. In 2002, a "Dual-view" decoder was launched by DStv which allowed the simultaneous viewing of two different channels from a single satellite feed. In 2006, a service to mobile devices was trialed and officially launched in 2011 as DStv Mobile (now called DStv Stream, renamed from DStv Now then DStv App). In October 2011, MultiChoice Nigeria launched GOtv, an affordable terrestrial platform & a compatriot to DStv, which broadcasts all channels from DStv Access and some from DStv Compact packages in 11 Sub-Saharan African countries. MultiChoice broadcasts in 50 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Cape Verde and Madagascar. Local language programme content is available in French and Portuguese in certain African territories, as well as the 11 official languages within South Africa.

IPO and consolidation (2018–2023) In September 2018, Multichoice's then parent company Naspers announced that it would separate its video entertainment business from the bulk of Naspers and list it separately on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The new company would be called MultiChoice Group and would include MultiChoice South Africa, MultiChoice Africa, Showmax Africa, and Irdeto. The listing took place on 27 February 2019, with share code MCG. The share was immediately eligible for inclusion in the JSE Top40, the list of the largest 40 shares by market capitalisation. In October 2020, French media company Groupe Canal+ acquired 12% stake in MultiChoice. In November, MultiChoice acquired 20% stake in Nigeria's sports betting company, BetKing with plans to launch it in South Africa. In June 2021, they increased their stake to 49%. In February 2023, French media company Groupe Canal+ acquired a 30.27% stake in the company, which eventually increased to 31.7%.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MultiChoice

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MultiChoice claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MultiChoice before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MultiChoice ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MultiChoice

In research: MultiChoice appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MultiChoice in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MultiChoice is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2025 mergers and acquisitions, Canal+ S.A., Companies based in Johannesburg, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MultiChoice outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MultiChoice in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MultiChoice means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MultiChoice out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MultiChoice in simple terms?

Why does MultiChoice matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MultiChoice?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MultiChoice.