CANAL+ and Netflix have extended their strategic partnership — forged in 2019 for France and Poland — to Sub-Saharan Africa. Under this agreement, CANAL+ becomes the first operator to distribute Netflix as part of its offerings across 24 French-speaking Sub-Saharan African countries, marking a new step in access to premium content for African subscribers.
From July 2026, CANAL+ subscribers in French-speaking African countries will be able to access Netflix content via their subscription, for a streamlined user experience.
The enriched offer will combine Netflix's iconic series like Stranger Things, La Casa de Papel, Lupin, Emily in Paris, and Squid Game alongside internationally successful African productions such as Blood & Water (South Africa), Young Famous and African, Unseen, King of Boys (Nigeria), Anikulapo (Nigeria), Blood Sisters (Nigeria), and Kings of Joburg (South Africa).
Pascale Chabert, Chief Content Acquisition Officer of CANAL+ said: "A few years after our distribution agreement in France and Poland, I am delighted to extend our historic partnership with Netflix to Africa. Our millions of African subscribers will benefit from a unique offer, bringing together the best of CANAL+ and Netflix content in a joint package. This new agreement demonstrates CANAL+'s ability to extend its unique super-aggregation model beyond the European continent."
Emma Lloyd, VP Partnerships EMEA at Netflix added: "We're thrilled about this extension of our partnership with CANAL+ which will allow us to reach even more people across French speaking African countries. It's a big win for entertainment fans."
This is Netflix's first distribution partnership in Africa. CANAL+ is relying on its extensive footprint on the African continent (26.9 million subscribers worldwide, operations in 52 countries). CANAL+ already offers over 400 live channels across Africa, including 28 produced specifically for African audiences. The deal follows Canal+'s acquisition of MultiChoice, making it the dominant pay-TV operator across both Francophone and Anglophone Africa.
SIGNIFICANCE: For African producers, this means content licensed to either Netflix or Canal+ now potentially reaches audiences across the entire continent through a single aggregator, fundamentally changing distribution economics for African-origin content.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com