MultiChoice Group has confirmed it will discontinue Showmax, closing the chapter on one of Africa’s most ambitious attempts to build a regional streaming platform capable of competing with global rivals. The decision follows years of mounting losses and reflects a broader reassessment of the economics of streaming in markets where broadband access and affordable data remain limited.
The platform, launched in 2015 and extensively relaunched in 2024, was originally conceived as a local response to the rapid expansion of international streaming services into Africa. Yet despite significant investment and partnerships with major global media groups, Showmax ultimately struggled to reach the scale required to become financially sustainable.
MultiChoice executives had already signalled that the platform’s financial trajectory was unsustainable, with leadership acknowledging that the service could not continue in its existing form. The losses associated with Showmax have been considerable, weighing heavily on the group’s overall financial performance.
Financial disclosures illustrate the scale of the challenge. Showmax recorded trading losses of approximately R2.6 billion for the financial year ending March 2024. Those losses expanded sharply to around R4.9 billion in the following year, reducing MultiChoice’s trading profit by nearly half to about R4 billion. The group also indicated that subscriber growth and revenue targets for 2025 fell short of expectations, underscoring the gap between projected demand and actual market uptake.
The closure highlights the structural difficulties facing subscription streaming in many African markets. While smartphone penetration across the continent has expanded rapidly, the infrastructure required to support high-volume video streaming remains uneven. Data costs are among the highest globally relative to income, and fibre connectivity remains limited outside major urban centres.
Industry analysts have repeatedly pointed to these constraints. According to Reuters, the economics of streaming in Africa differ sharply from those in Europe and North America, where widespread broadband connectivity and larger disposable incomes underpin subscription models. The African market’s reliance on mobile data, combined with volatile currencies and lower consumer spending power, has made profitability difficult for both local and international platforms.
Showmax’s transformation in 2024 was intended to address some of these structural challenges. In 2023 MultiChoice entered into a partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky, which acquired a minority stake in the service and contributed advanced streaming technology alongside a library of international programming. The revamped platform, branded as Showmax 2.0, launched across 44 African markets with redesigned applications, new pricing tiers and expanded sports and entertainment offerings.
Despite these upgrades, adoption remained below projections. Market analysts note that streaming competition intensified during the same period as global platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ continued expanding their content offerings and regional presence.
The decision to discontinue Showmax also reflects strategic changes following Canal+’s growing influence within MultiChoice. The French media group, which has been consolidating its position in the African pay-television market, has emphasised financial discipline and capital allocation as priorities. According to Business Day, Canal+ leadership has previously indicated that Showmax had not achieved the commercial success required to justify continued investment at scale.
While the shutdown marks the end of the Showmax brand, MultiChoice has indicated that it does not intend to abandon streaming entirely. The company said employees affected by the transition will not face retrenchments and that alternative roles and transition arrangements will be provided where possible.
Instead, the group plans to develop an internal large-scale streaming platform designed specifically for African market conditions. Executives have indicated that future investment will focus on premium content, improved technology infrastructure and partnerships that can support a more sustainable digital entertainment strategy across the continent.
Further details on MultiChoice’s long-term streaming plans are expected when Canal+ releases its first combined financial results for the year ending December 2025. The results are anticipated to provide greater clarity on how the group intends to position itself in an industry where digital distribution is becoming increasingly central to global media strategy.
Showmax’s closure brings to an end more than a decade of experimentation in African streaming. The platform was once positioned as the continent’s flagship digital entertainment service and a potential counterweight to international competitors. Its demise now illustrates the financial and structural hurdles involved in building large-scale streaming services in emerging markets where infrastructure, affordability and consumer behaviour continue to shape the limits of digital media growth.