The Story⚡
Showmax, the pan-African streaming service run by MultiChoice with NBCUniversal, is set to discontinue operations soon. Canal+ and MultiChoice confirmed the decision, which follows a board review of the service’s performance.
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Showmax’s journey from trailblazing pioneer to shuttered platform captures the highs and harsh realities of building a homegrown streaming service in Africa. Launched as a direct counter to Netflix and other global giants eating into MultiChoice’s pay-TV base, it quickly became synonymous with bold African storytelling and rapid subscriber growth—before mounting losses, fierce competition, and shifting ownership priorities brought it to an end.
The Rise Of Showmax
MultiChoice launched Showmax on 19 August 2015 in South Africa, quickly expanding across sub-Saharan Africa and even to Europe, Oceania, and North America for African expats (reaching 65 countries at peak). By July 2016, it had already hit 10 million views, and it continued with strong momentum: passing major milestones, launching Showmax Pro for sports in 2020, and by November 2023, boasting 2.1 million subscribers across Africa, overtaking Netflix’s 1.8 million to claim the continent’s top spot.
Subscriber numbers later climbed to around 3.1 million by 2024, with paying subscribers growing at a 26% CAGR in key periods and Rest-of-Africa markets expanding at 75% CAGR. The platform earned praise as the #1 streaming app in South Africa’s app stores and “Streaming Service of the Year” in multiple awards.
This early success was fuelled by a sharp focus on local originals that resonated deeply. The first South African Showmax original was the mockumentary series Tali’s Wedding Diary, which premiered in December 2017.
In Nigeria, the platform’s first original was the limited drama series Diiche, released in September 2022.
Kenya got its first Showmax Original series with the gritty police procedural and legal drama Crime & Justice in February 2021, followed shortly by the first Kenyan original movie: the coming-of-age comedy-drama Baba Twins (released December 2021), directed by Lawrence Murage and produced by Lucy Mwangi.
These productions, alongside dozens more, positioned Showmax as the go-to platform for authentic African voices, winning awards, driving cultural conversations, and proving massive demand for locally rooted content at competitive mobile-first pricing.
The Fall Of Showmax
Despite the strong foundation, cracks appeared as the service chased aggressive global-scale ambitions. A major pivot came in February 2024 with the NBCUniversal joint venture (NBCU taking 30%, MultiChoice 70%), which injected approximately $309 million in equity to fund Peacock technology upgrades, expanded content, and subscriber growth targets aimed at $1 billion in annual revenue. The relaunch delivered upgrades and hits, but goals were missed amid higher churn, macro-economic pressures (especially in Nigeria), and soaring costs.
Some flagship originals that debuted exclusively on Showmax were quietly shifted or given shorter streaming windows on MultiChoice’s linear channels. Nigerian telenovela Wura, one of Showmax’s early hits, saw its fourth season premiere on Africa Magic Showcase in March 2026 instead of staying a pure Showmax original. Similarly, The Real Housewives Season 3 launched with Showmax exclusivity before moving to follow-up runs on Africa Magic. This reflected a broader strategic retreat: Showmax moved away from any wider international/expats push (it had already closed its Poland service in 2019 due to slow growth and later withdrew from non-African markets) to become a strictly Africa-focused platform, right up until Canal+’s full control of MultiChoice in September 2025.
The end came abruptly. In a January 2026 investor call, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada openly called Showmax “not commercially successful.” On 5th March, 2026, ahead of Canal+’s upcoming financial results, the Showmax board confirmed discontinuation after a comprehensive review. Trading losses surged 88% to R4.9 billion (roughly $270–300 million) in the financial year ended March 2025, even as revenue declined despite the heavy investment.
Tangent
This closure is part of a wider streaming crisis gripping Africa and the globe. The industry’s capital-intensive model, massive spending on content and tech amid low average revenue per user (ARPU), high data costs, piracy, and economic headwinds, has forced consolidation everywhere. Amazon paused new African originals in early 2024; many platforms are now prioritising profitability over subscriber wars. Canal+ is shifting toward cost-efficient hybrids: bundling (as it already does with Netflix in Francophone Africa) and leveraging its pay-TV backbone rather than standalone apps. Other operators are expected to follow with more technology- and content-sharing partnerships to sustain local stories without the unsustainable burn.
No specific closure date has been set, as Canal+ and MultiChoice finalise remaining legal details tied to the NBCUniversal joint-venture agreement. Original productions are already being rebranded and moved to MultiChoice’s linear channels (Africa Magic, M-Net, kykNET, and Mzansi Magic). Staff members will not be retrenched; they are being reassigned within the wider group, in line with Canal+’s three-year commitment not to reduce headcount after the MultiChoice acquisition.
In Summary
What does the future hold for streaming platforms in Africa? Canal+ will prioritise content bundling partnerships, like its Netflix integration in Francophone countries, and hybrid pay-TV models over standalone services. Other operators are likely to follow with technology-sharing and cost-sharing strategies to support local content amid high expenses.
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