BREAKING NEWS: Multichoice shuts down Showmax

MultiChoice has announced that it will discontinue its streaming platform Showmax following a major review of its digital entertainment business.

The company said the decision was approved by the Showmax board after assessing the platform’s financial performance. MultiChoice, now owned by French media giant Canal+, said the streaming service had been recording large annual losses that could no longer be sustained.

“The substantial annual losses experienced by the Showmax business have proved unsustainable,” MultiChoice said in a statement. The company added that ending the service is part of efforts to build a more sustainable and competitive business in the global streaming market.

MultiChoice said the decision will not lead to job losses. The company noted that affected staff will receive support and guidance through different transition options as the business adjusts.

Canal+ plans to introduce its own large-scale streaming platform to serve African and international audiences. The broadcaster said it will continue investing in premium content, technology and partnerships to strengthen its position in the African entertainment industry.

The announcement follows months of criticism from Canal+ leadership about Showmax’s financial performance since the French group completed its acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025.

Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in January that the platform had not achieved commercial success despite heavy spending on marketing, content and technology. MultiChoice chief executive David Mignot later confirmed that the platform could not continue in its current form because the business model was not financially viable.

Financial results released earlier showed the scale of the problem. Showmax losses rose by 88 per cent from R2.6 billion to R4.9 billion, while revenue stood at about R750 million. This was far below the company’s earlier target of generating about $1 billion a year.

MultiChoice had invested heavily in relaunching the platform. The company spent about R1.7 billion to customise Peacock streaming technology through a partnership with NBCUniversal and Sky. Under that agreement, NBCUniversal acquired a 30 per cent stake in the new Showmax entity while MultiChoice kept 70 per cent.

Showmax 2.0 was launched across 44 African markets in February 2024 with new branding, subscription packages and more local content, including several African original productions. Paying subscribers grew by about 44 per cent during the 2025 financial year, but the growth was not enough to cover rising content and platform costs.

MultiChoice first launched Showmax in South Africa in August 2015 as one of Africa’s earliest subscription video-on-demand platforms. At the time, the company believed Africa’s fast-growing smartphone use and large sports audience would drive streaming growth.

However, the expected expansion did not materialise at the required scale. Analysts say the gap between global streaming costs and Africa’s infrastructure and income levels made profitability difficult.

Canal+ said it will now focus on strengthening its own streaming services across markets where MultiChoice operates. The company said Showmax subscribers remain a priority as it prepares new content and technology upgrades for the future.