* The decision to phase out Showmax reflects our focus on building a sustainable, competitive business for the long term in an increasingly demanding global streaming environment
* The decision to discontinue Showmax services will not involve any retrenchments. The Group will be engaging and supporting employees through various transition options
By Duncan Mlanjira
MultiChoice has announced the discontinuation of Showmax service, following a comprehensive review of its streaming activities by the company as it focuses on “building a sustainable, competitive business for the long term in an increasingly demanding global streaming environment”.
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In a statement, MultiChoice — which is part of global media and entertainment company, CANAL+ SA — says the decision was made by the Showmax Board of Directors and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice on “financial discipline and investment optimisation, in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment”.
“The substantial annual losses experienced by the Showmax business have proved unsustainable,” says the statement issued yesterday, adding that the decision will not involve any retrenchments.
“The Group will be engaging and supporting employees through various transition options. This evolution is also consistent with the ambition of MultiChoice, a CANAL+ company, to deploy its in-house large-scale streaming platform capable of meeting the expectations of African and international consumers.
“CANAL+ will continue to invest in premium content for MultiChoice subscribers, technological innovation and strategic partnerships to consolidate its leadership in the African entertainment market.”
The statement adds that further details regarding the expanded content offering and platform upgrades will be shared in due course and reassured Showmax enthusiasts that they are their priority subscribers as they evolve the services to deliver a superior streaming experience.
MultiChoice Group (MCG), the subsidiary of CANAL+ group, is a leading provider of entertainment and related consumer services and the company has an expanding ecosystem, underpinned by scalable technologies, and a track record now spanning almost 40 years.
MCG provides video entertainment products and services t hrough its linear and streaming platforms to millions of households across 50 countries on the African continent and continues to grow by producing and acquiring the best local, sport and international content — offering tiered subscription packages and aggregated streaming services to its customer base.
MCG’s superior technology capabilities enable it to continue innovating around distribution, digital and payment solutions, and content security to offer the best customer experience across the continent.
Reaching up to 100 million individuals daily, the MultiChoice Group is using its scale and distribution to expand its platform to include sports betting and interactive entertainment, fin- tech services, household services (focused on internet connectivity and emergency response services) and ed-tech.
Irdeto, MCG’s technology business, provides platform cybersecurity services which protect over 6 billion devices and applications globally for some of the world’s best media and technology brands, as well as clients in the connected industries sector.
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