French pay-TV giant hit by revenue and subscriber declines at recent acquisition Multichoice Group
Canal+ shares have plunged almost 20% following the unveiling of its 2025 results, at which chief exec Maxime Saada revealed a new AI creative partnership with Google and a scripted pact with Sky in the UK.
Revenues at the French company, which moved onto the London Stock Exchange a year ago, were down 2.5% to €6.28bn with adjusted EBITA standing 5% higher on 2024 at €527m.
But the impact of recent African acquisition MultiChoice hit shares, which were down 20% at press time to 236.10p.
Pay TV subscriber numbers were down 500,000 to 14.4 million and revenues are also expected to decline, with Canal+ unveiling plans to invest €100m to bolster numbers. Synergy savings are also expected to rise from €100m to €250m.
Content, production and distribution revenue was down 42% at €775m, with the decline put down to comparisons on 2024 numbers that included hits such as Paddington in Peru and TV series Paris Has Fallen.
The company closed streamer Showmax earlier this week and described the DTC offering as an “expensive failure”, with its closure supporting the improved savings.
Production AI and Sky deal
Saada also used the results to talk up a raft of new initatives, including an “ambitious new partnership with Sky to develop English-speaking drama”.
The deal, described as “a strategic co-commissioning partnership”, aims to create premium shows “bringing together complementary creative expertise, shared investment and international reach to support ambitious storytelling.”
The agreement includes a minimum of two projects per year over an initial three-year term, with projects co-financed and using the produciton capabilities of StudioCanal and indies.
“The collaborative model is designed to support wide distribution, reaching audiences across Europe and beyond, and providing a strong route to market for UK-led stories with international resonance,” the companies said.
Saada added: “Our previous co-productions, like The Young Pope and Zero Zero Zero, are great examples of what we can do together through this complementary and ambitious new partnership.”
Dana Strong, group chief exec at Sky, added: “Sky and Canal+ share a strong track record in creating premium drama, and through this collaboration we will bring our creative ambition and expertise together at scale.”
The first slate of projects are in the works and will be confirmed in the coming months, with the deal coming six months after Canal+ hired former Sky Studios exec Paul Gilbert to lead English-language series at production division StudioCanal.
The company also revealed a deal with Google’s GenAI video software Veo3 that will allow production partners and creative teams to use the tech on shows.
Canal+ said it would allow teams to “unlock the creative ambitions of their talent, for instance, previsualising a scene before shooting it or recreating historical moments from a single archival photo.”
Rights and asset ownership would be “deeply protected”, the company added.
“Using these tools & platform, Canal+’s partners will have full control of their production, of their editorial decision, with opportunities to try new approach while ensuring cost control, thanks to significantly shorter experimentation cycles.”
Canal+ also revealed a multi-year partnership with Google Cloud that will see the French company deploying the internet giant’s tehc to “accelerate” the content video indexing of its library.
Stéphane Baumier, chief technology officer at Canal+, said the company is “excited to push creative boundaries by providing creators with tools that enable AI-generated video scenes, impossible to produce using traditional methods.”
A deal has also been struck with OpenAI that will use the AI platform to improve content search and discovery on the pay TV giant’s app.
The feature will allow users to express what they want to watch in their own words - based on their preferences or mood - and receive tailored content suggestions.
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