By Dylan Bettencourt
- The Competition Commission is looking into Canal Plus after claims it demanded 20% supplier discounts following its takeover of MultiChoice.
- Staff at MultiChoice’s Randburg offices reportedly ran out of toilet paper as cost-cutting measures followed the French media giant’s arrival.
It hasn’t taken long for things to get wiped out at DStv.
Just weeks after French media giant Canal Plus took control of MultiChoice, the company behind DStv, staff say things have gone from “Bonjour!” to “bring your own toilet paper.”
According to the Sunday Times, suppliers claim Canal Plus demanded a 20% discount or risk losing their contracts. The Competition Commission is now looking into whether this broke the merger deal’s rules, which promised to protect small and black-owned businesses.
Siyabulela Makunga from the Commission said they are “noting the allegations with concern” and will investigate under the Competition Act.
Insiders told the paper that the cost-cutting has gone to wild levels. Toilet paper reportedly ran out at MultiChoice’s Randburg headquarters, forcing staff to bring their own.
One supplier compared the French bosses’ demands to having “a gun to your head” – take the discount or take a hike.
Parliament’s watchdogs now want answers from Canal Plus and MultiChoice. If found guilty of breaching the merger conditions, the company could face serious penalties — maybe even more painful than a toilet paper shortage.
MultiChoice said it has been trimming costs for two years already, and the belt-tightening continues under its new owners. Unfortunately, it seems those belts are now also holding up empty toilet rolls.
Pictured above: MultiChoice’s Randburg headquarters, where cost-cutting has gone a little too far.
Image source: @MultiChoiceGRP
