MultiChoice cans Showmax Pro, prepares for revamp

MultiChoice's live streaming sports platform Showmax Pro has closed and will not be available for new subscribers, as the pay-TV operator prepares to revamp its streaming service later this year.

Showmax sent a message to its subscribers saying that the Showmax Pro offering would be discontinued, but the original Showmax entertainment services would continue ahead of a platform overhaul.

"With the relaunch of Showmax later this year, our sport offering will focus exclusively on the Premier League, the most popular league on the continent. More details around pricing and the product will be shared soon," said Showmax to its subscribers.

"From October 1, 2023, Showmax Pro will no longer be available for subscription," Showmax said.

"If you have an auto-renewal subscription, you won't be charged after October 30, 2023, and you can continue to view until the last day of your subscription," the streaming platform continued.

MultiChoice Group is Africa's biggest pay-TV operator, running direct broadcast satellite service DStv, and Showmax is a core component of its digital growth strategy.

As part of these changes, existing Showmax Pro customers in South Africa will be offered a DStv Compact Plus Stream package at the same price as Showmax Pro.

Customers in other countries will be offered a DStv Stream package at the same price as Showmax Pro, which will also give access to even more live sport from SuperSport.

Showmax Pro had been recording strong growth and doubled its subscriber base during the year ended March 31, 2023. This was supported by the broadcast of properties such as English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Premier Soccer League in SA and other sports offerings like athletics and boxing.

The end of the Pro package follows a partnership deal with NBCUniversal which will see new content and streaming technology added to Showmax for customers across MultiChoice's 50-market footprint in sub-Saharan Africa.

The deal with NBCUniversal's Peacock technology platform was announced in March 2023 and successfully closed on April 4, 2023, with MultiChoice Group now owning 70% of the new Showmax group and NBCUniversal owning the remaining 30%.

Moreover, that deal is in line with MultiChoice's plan to invest heavily in growing its streaming platform with aspirations to make it the leading streaming service in Africa.

Showmax 2.0 enters

In a step for the group's future over-the-top (OTT) ambitions, Showmax is pinning its growth hopes on a planned revamp of its platform in its partnership with NBCUniversal's Peacock.

"The new Showmax business will bring the world's best local and international content to Africa and will be supported by Peacock's scalable and feature-rich technology platform," MultiChoice said during the partnership announcement.

"Following the recent announcement of the new Showmax group, the year ahead will not only see the business migrating to the Peacock platform, but also the exciting launch of new products and price points to set Showmax up for strong future growth," the group added.

The shutting down of Showmax Pro follows MultiChoice's partnership with NBCUniversal's Peacock which will see new content and streaming technology added to Showmax. (Source: Image by Freepik).

The new version of the platform is expected to go live at the end of 2023 or in early 2024 and the content will be a blend of MultiChoice's locally produced content, international material from NBCUniversal and Sky, third-party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony and others.

The partnership will also provide access to African content such as Showmax Originals and local content from MultiChoice's proprietary channels including Mzansi Magic, Africa Magic and Maisha Magic.

The company added that the relaunch will offer subscribers more live sports, including the English Premier League soccer and the platform's live sports streaming will be expanded with the relaunch.

Peacock's streaming platform had over 20 million paid subscribers in the US at the end of 2022 and NBCUniversal's chairman for the Direct-to-Consumer and International segment, Matt Strauss, said the new African partnership provides an opportunity to further scale Peacock's global presence.

In Nigeria, NBCUniversal will hold an indirect 23.7% stake in the local subsidiary.

*Top image source: Image by Freepik

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa