M-Net and MultiChoice Co-founder Cobus Stofberg Retires from Naspers

M-Net and MultiChoice co-founder Cobus Stofberg retires from Naspers after an incredible 40-year journey that helped shape South Africa’s media landscape. As one of the co-founders of M-Net and MultiChoice, Cobus Stofberg’s work was key in turning Naspers from just a print company into a global media and technology powerhouse.

Back in the 1980s, when Cobus Stofberg started, Naspers was mostly known for its newspapers and magazines. TV was dominated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Together with Koos Bekker and Jac van der Merwe, Cobus Stofberg had a bold idea: to start a subscription-based pay-TV service. This idea became reality with the launch of M-Net in 1986. This was South Africa’s first pay-TV channel, and it began with 12 hours of programs a day, including live rugby games that Afrikaans-speaking viewers loved.

M-Net’s success was just the start. Cobus Stofberg helped create MultiChoice, which launched DStv in 1995. DStv was the first direct-to-home digital pay-TV in Africa and came with 16 channels, such as M-Net, SuperSport, Cartoon Network, and CNN. Thanks to Cobus Stofberg’s smart planning, DStv grew fast, from 10,000 subscribers in 1996 to more than 8 million by 2014. This growth helped make the company a leader across sub-Saharan Africa.

But Cobus Stofberg’s work didn’t stop with M-Net and MultiChoice. He was part of the team that helped Naspers stretch beyond South Africa. In 2001, Cobus Stofberg supported a big decision, a $32 million investment in Tencent, a then-small Chinese tech company. That move turned out to be a goldmine. Today, Naspers’ share in Tencent is worth about $100 billion, thanks largely to Cobus Stofberg’s early belief in the opportunity.

Cobus Stofberg’s leadership helped Naspers grow into a giant by buying stakes in important companies like Takealot, South Africa’s biggest online store, and Russia’s Mail.ru Group. In 2019, Naspers made the decision to separate MultiChoice into its own listed company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, a vision that Cobus Stofberg strongly supported to help the company grow on its own.

At MultiChoice, Cobus Stofberg’s influence is clear. By 1998, DStv had 70,000 subscribers, and thanks to adding popular channels like BBC Prime and National Geographic, that number jumped to 350,000 in just a year. His focus on getting great content, especially sports and international shows, helped build DStv’s huge fan base. By 2020, MultiChoice had over 20 million subscribers across 50 African countries. He also led the launch of new services like DStv Stream, GOtv, and Showmax, showing that the company could adapt in the era of streaming and online entertainment.

Even when MultiChoice faced challenges, like losing subscribers in Nigeria due to inflation and economic troubles in 2024, Cobus Stofberg’s groundwork helped the company stay strong.

Throughout his time at Naspers, Cobus Stofberg worked closely with Koos Bekker and Jac van der Merwe. Their teamwork and shared vision helped change how people in Africa watch TV and access digital content.

Now as Cobus Stofberg retires from Naspers, his legacy will live on. He changed the way millions of South Africans and Africans enjoy entertainment, from the launch of M-Net in the 1980s to the huge success of MultiChoice today. His retirement marks the end of an era, but the companies he helped build will continue to thrive.

Koos Bekker, Naspers chairman, said it well: “Cobus’s vision helped build the foundation for our growth into a global tech leader.” The impact of Cobus Stofberg’s leadership at Naspers and MultiChoice will be felt for many years to come. Cobus Stofberg retires from Naspers, but his influence will never fade.

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