Multichoice Group said on Thursday it made a loss in the first half due to an upfront investment in services and offerings it made before the soccer World Cup that starts later in November.

The South African pay TV company who has exclusive rights to broadcast the sporting extravaganza in Africa, for the half year ended Sept. 30 its headline loss per share, the main measure of earnings in South Africa was at 58 South African cents down from 356 cents posted in the same period of last year.