On March 5, 2026, MultiChoice confirmed that it will shut down Showmax, the platform it built, rebuilt, and poured billions into over 11 years. The decision ends one of the continent’s most ambitious media experiments. It also reveals exactly how hard it is to build a streaming business in Africa, even when you start with every advantage.
Showmax started as Africa’s best bet against Netflix
MultiChoice launched Showmax in South Africa on August 19, 2015. It was Africa’s first major subscription video-on-demand platform. Netflix had not yet arrived on the continent, and MultiChoice moved early.
For the first few years, Showmax grew steadily. It operated in 46 African countries, reached into the UK and other Western markets for the African diaspora, and built a library of local content that connected deeply with African audiences. Shows like Devilsdorp, Catch Me A Killer, and Tracking Thabo Bester drew real attention and earned critical praise.
By November 2023, Showmax had overtaken Netflix as the leading paid streaming service in Africa. It held 39% of the market with 2.1 million subscribers, while Netflix trailed at 33.5% with 1.8 million subscribers. For a moment, it looked like Showmax could win the streaming war on its home continent.
What changed?
In March 2023, MultiChoice made the boldest bet in its history. It partnered with American media giants Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky to completely overhaul Showmax. NBCUniversal acquired a 30% stake in a new Showmax entity. MultiChoice retained 70%.
The deal brought in Peacock’s streaming technology, content pipelines from NBC, Universal Pictures, HBO, Warner Bros, Sony, DreamWorks Animation, and Telemundo. It also secured live English Premier League football.
MultiChoice spent R1.7 billion to customise the Peacock technology for African markets. It took out a R12 billion multi-party term loan to fund working capital and support the relaunch. In February 2024, Showmax 2.0 launched across 44 African markets with a new app, new branding, and a three-tier pricing structure.
Former MultiChoice executive Yolisa Phahle set a public target at the time. She projected that Showmax would reach 16 million active subscribers paying an average of R99 per month, with an EBITDA margin of 25%, totalling roughly $1 billion in annual revenue.
The 2025 financial year results exposed the full scale of the problem. Showmax’s trading loss grew by 88%, from R2.6 billion in the year ended March 2024 to R4.9 billion in the year ended March 2025. Revenue during that same period reached only R750 million. Those losses dragged MultiChoice Group’s trading profit down by 49% to R4 billion.
Showmax’s subscriber numbers did grow. The platform recorded 44% year-on-year growth in paying subscribers in the 2025 financial year. But that growth was nowhere near enough to cover the rising costs of content acquisition, platform licensing, and marketing. MultiChoice itself admitted that subscriber growth and revenues were “well short” of its 2025 targets.
Lenders also raised concerns. The ongoing Showmax funding requirements put pressure on MultiChoice’s financial conditions tied to its borrowing facilities.
The business was not just underperforming, but was actively pulling the wider MultiChoice Group down with it.
Canal+ took over and saw the reality fast
Canal+ completed its acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025 after a lengthy mandatory buyout process, paying roughly $3 billion. The French media giant gained control of DStv, GOtv, Showmax, and MultiChoice’s broader African footprint.
Canal+ did not take long to assess Showmax.
In January 2026, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada told investment analysts directly that Showmax was “not a commercial success, it’s quite obvious.” He described the platform’s losses as “not acceptable” and said the group was weighing its options. Reuters reported that Canal+ expected to achieve over €400 million in annual cost savings by 2030, with Showmax’s situation firmly on the agenda.
In February 2026, MultiChoice Group CEO David Mignot confirmed the verdict in an interview with TechCentral. He said Showmax “can’t continue” in its current form. His words were direct: “Financially speaking, business-wise speaking, the thing is not flying.”
Africa’s infrastructure was always the harder enemy
The decision to shut Showmax down carries a lesson that goes beyond one company’s finances. Africa’s streaming economics remain fundamentally difficult, and MultiChoice’s leadership acknowledged this openly.
David Mignot pointed out that Africa has roughly 600 million smartphones. Yet the cost of mobile data across most of the continent makes streaming unaffordable for the majority of those users. Only about 4% to 5% of the continent’s roughly 100 million electrified, TV-owning households have access to fibre.
Without affordable, reliable data, a streaming platform cannot grow its subscriber base fast enough to offset its content and technology costs. That gap between vision and reality proved decisive for Showmax.
What Showmax subscribers can expect right now
Showmax sent emails to subscribers on March 5, 2026, confirming the shutdown. There is no immediate interruption, and subscribers can still keep stream as usual. No action is required at this time. Showmax has not yet announced a final closure date, as legal processes related to the joint venture with Comcast are still being worked through.
MultiChoice said it will share detailed timelines well in advance of any actual service interruption. Subscribers are described as a priority as the company plans its next steps.
Importantly, MultiChoice also confirmed that the shutdown will not trigger any employee retrenchments. The group is committed to engaging employees and supporting them through transition options.
Canal+ plans a new way forward for African streaming
The closure of Showmax does not mean Canal+ plans to exit the African streaming space. The company has been transparent about what it intends to build next.
Canal+ operates its own streaming app across more than 30 countries globally. That app includes partnerships with Apple TV, Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO Max, and Netflix, through a deal Canal+ signed in 2025 to allow subscribers in French-speaking African countries to access Netflix via their Canal+ subscription.
According to Bloomberg and Business Insider Africa, Canal+ is actively considering rolling out this streaming app to DStv subscribers in South Africa and across MultiChoice’s other markets. The concept involves a unified “super app” that consolidates DStv content, Canal+ programming, and third-party streaming services in one place.
MultiChoice stated that it intends to deploy “an in-house large-scale streaming platform” designed to meet the expectations of both African and international consumers. Canal+ confirmed it will continue investing in premium local content, technology, and strategic partnerships. More details are expected when Canal+ releases its first combined financial results on March 11, 2026.
The lesson Showmax leaves behind
Showmax spent 11 years building something real. At its peak, it beat Netflix in Africa. It produced dozens of local originals across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania. It invested in African stories and African talent at a scale no other platform on the continent matched. In 2024 alone, it released 85 original titles across five African countries.
None of that was enough to overcome the structural challenges like data costs, limited broadband infrastructure, and the enormous capital required to compete with global streaming companies that can absorb losses for far longer.
Canal+ now takes on the challenge of building something more sustainable. Whether a Canal+ super app can succeed where Showmax could not depends on the same variables, such as data affordability, broadband expansion, and consumer purchasing power across a continent that remains one of the world’s most complex media markets.
Africa still needs a strong local streaming champion. The space Showmax leaves behind is real, and someone will eventually fill it.
