{"id":57653,"date":"2026-04-30T05:13:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T05:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=57653"},"modified":"2026-04-30T05:13:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T05:13:06","slug":"280812","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/30\/280812\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye, Showmax"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-280815 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Goodbye-Showmax.jpg?resize=640%2C341&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Goodbye, Showmax\" width=\"640\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Goodbye-Showmax.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-1024x546.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-768x410.jpg 768w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-150x80.jpg 150w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-450x240.jpg 450w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/showmax-1500-800-1200x640.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>When Showmax went<\/strong> live on 19 August 2015, it carried more than just a catalogue of TV series and films. It carried Naspers\u2019s conviction that South Africa could build a globally competitive streaming service from Johannesburg, beat Netflix to its own market and use local content as the wedge to keep it there. Today that conviction will be quietly switched off.<\/p>\n<p>The Canal+ trading update issued on Tuesday confirmed what subscribers already knew: the Showmax service in Africa will be phased out at the end of April. The numbers buried in the small print make for grim reading. Showmax revenue fell from \u20ac12-million in the first quarter of 2025 to \u20ac9-million in the first quarter of 2026 \u2013 a 25% slide in a single year, on a platform that was supposed to be in full-throated growth mode.<\/p>\n<p>It is hard to overstate how different the world looked when Showmax launched. Netflix would not arrive in South Africa for another five months. Locally, Times Media\u2019s Vidi and Altech\u2019s Node were the closest thing the country had to a streaming proposition, and both were struggling. ShowMax \u2013 then capitalised in both syllables \u2013 arrived with 11\u00a0000 hours of content, a seven-day free trial and a flat R99\/month fee for unlimited access.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"modern-quote pull alignright\">When Canal+ took control of MultiChoice in September 2025, the verdict was swift<\/aside>\n<p>It was, even then, a Netflix pre-emption play. Naspers had seen Reed Hastings signal a 200-country expansion in January 2015 and decided it would not cede home turf without a fight. Showmax was deliberately incubated outside MultiChoice, under former DStv Digital Media chief John Kotsaftis, to foster startup-style innovation. \u201cWe think our content selection is broader,\u201d Kotsaftis told TechCentral on launch day. \u201cOur local content selection is an order of magnitude bigger than anything Netflix has done elsewhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>High-water mark<\/h2>\n<p>For a while, that was true. <em>Tali\u2019s Wedding Diary<\/em>, the mockumentary starring <em>Suzelle DIY<\/em>\u2018s Julia Anastasopoulos, became the platform\u2019s first breakout local hit. The excellent <em>The Girl from St Agnes<\/em> followed in 2019 as Showmax\u2019s first scripted drama. By the end of its first year, the service had logged 10 million views, refreshed its logo into a more confident lower-case wordmark and was being projected to break even in 2021 at 800\u00a0000 subscribers, according to Morgan Stanley. It was modest, but it was real.<\/p>\n<p>It was also, in retrospect, a high-water mark. Kotsaftis left for Fox Networks in 2018. The standalone unit was folded back into MultiChoice. The product began chasing what DStv had always relied on: sport. Showmax Pro launched in 2020 at R449\/month, bundling SuperSport-fed Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and PSL games with the existing entertainment library. The base tier remained at R99. The maths was stretched but plausible.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: right;\">Read: Commission to probe Showmax closure<\/h3>\n<p>What followed broke the formula. In March 2023, MultiChoice handed 30% of Showmax to Comcast\u2019s NBCUniversal and Sky in exchange for Peacock\u2019s streaming technology and a content pipeline from HBO, Warner Bros, Sony and others. The platform was rebuilt from the ground up.<\/p>\n<p>Showmax 2.0 launched in February 2024 across 44 African markets with a new app, new branding and a three-tier pricing structure. Former MultiChoice executive Yolisa Phahle reportedly projected US$1-billion in annual revenue and 16 million subscribers within five years.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-279182\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777525985_819_Goodbye-Showmax.jpg?resize=640%2C341&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Showmax\" width=\"640\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777525985_819_Goodbye-Showmax.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-1024x546.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-768x410.jpg 768w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-150x80.jpg 150w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-450x240.jpg 450w, https:\/\/techcentral.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/showmax-1500-800-1200x640.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Neither came. Showmax recorded trading losses of R2.6-billion in the year ended 31 March 2024. They ballooned 88% to R4.9-billion the following year, dragging MultiChoice Group\u2019s trading profit down 49% to R4-billion. Subscriber growth was \u201cwell short\u201d of targets, by management\u2019s own admission.<\/p>\n<p>When Canal+ took control of MultiChoice in September 2025, the verdict was swift. In January, group CEO Maxime Saada called Showmax \u201cnot a commercial success\u201d. In February, MultiChoice CEO David Mignot told TechCentral the platform \u201ccan\u2019t continue\u201d. \u201cFinancially speaking, business-wise speaking, the thing is not flying,\u201d he said. The 5 March announcement that Showmax would be discontinued was a formality. Canal+\u2019s 2025 results, days later, branded the platform an \u201cexpensive failure\u201d.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"modern-quote pull alignright\">Showmax in 2015 was the first serious attempt by a South African company to build a streaming service<\/aside>\n<p>Subscribers were given 30 April as a hard kill date. A selection of Showmax Originals will move to a dedicated section on DStv Stream from 1 May, though the international content from HBO, Warner Bros, Paramount and Peacock that anchored the 2024 relaunch will not survive the transition. Showmax-only subscribers have been offered DStv Stream Compact at a discounted R99\/month for 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>What is being lost is not really the platform itself. The Showmax Originals will be migrated. The international content will resurface, eventually, on the Canal+ app that is the centrepiece of Saada\u2019s \u201cone Canal+, one brand\u201d strategy. Subscribers who want sport and entertainment in one place will land on DStv Stream and probably not look back.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: right;\">Read: Showmax Originals find a new home on DStv Stream<\/h3>\n<p>What is being lost is the idea. Showmax in 2015 was the first serious attempt by a South African company to build a streaming service that could stand on its own against the global giants \u2013 not as a regional reseller, not as a niche play, but as a homegrown product that understood its market better than any imported alternative could. It nearly worked. Then it tried to become something bigger, raised the stakes, swung wildly \u2013 and lost.\u00a0 \u2013 <em>\u00a9 2026 NewsCentral Media<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"mt24\">\n<div data-qa-component=\"story-content-collapsable\">\n<div class=\"mh-auto overflow-hidden mh-none--print\" data-qa-component=\"collapsable-content\">\n<div class=\"font-knowledge regular line-height-1-5 color-black f6 pt16 pb20 border-bottom border-gray-22 story-copy\" dir=\"auto\" data-qa-component=\"item-story\" data-rc-highlight=\"story\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><i>Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><span class=\"s2\"><b><i>Sign up here<\/i><\/b><\/span><b><i>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Goodbye #Showmax<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Showmax went live on 19 August 2015, it carried more than just a catalogue of TV series and films.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57655,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57653\/revisions\/57655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}