Canal+, which has been aggressively cutting costs since its recent acquisition of African pay-TV group MultiChoice, is shutting down Showmax, the loss-making and money-guzzling video streaming service that MultiChoice ran in partnership with NBCUniversal.
Variety has now learned with certainty that Showmax will definitely be shutting down “soon,” although a specific date has not yet been revealed, given that there are still some legal ramifications that Canal+ and MultiChoice are working out.
Canal+ and MultiChoice confirmed the end of Showmax to Variety, saying they were “discontinuing the Showmax service following a comprehensive review of our streaming activities.”
MultiChoice launched Showmax across Africa 11 years ago in August 2015 to compete with the emergence of streamers such as Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon’s Prime Video, and Disney+. All of these streamers are now available on the African continent and have started to make inroads into MultiChoice’s traditional pay TV subscriber base.
Two years ago, in February 2024, MultiChoice partnered with Comcast’s NBCUniversal to reboot Showmax using the technology behind its Peacock streaming service.
Millions of dollars poured into Showmax’s IT platform revamp and content spending to boost streamers across Africa’s fight against Netflix ultimately proved futile.
MultiChoice and NBCUniversal poured a combined $309 million in equity funding into Showmax, primarily to fuel content production, but none of the aggressive growth and subscriber acquisition goals that MultiChoice executives had promised investors before the restart were met.
Showmax, which is aiming to cut costs by a total of 400 million euros by 2030, including content reductions through Canal+ group integration, is underperforming and cash-guzzling, becoming the latest victim of Canal+’s rationalization at MultiChoice.
NBCUniversal holds a 30% stake in Showmax as a joint venture. In its last annual financial results before the Canal+ acquisition, MultiChoice revealed that Showmax’s trading losses worsened by 88% and revenue fell sharply.
According to the company, “The decision to discontinue Showmax was made by the Showmax Board of Directors and reflects MultiChoice, a Canal+ company,’s continued focus on financial discipline and investment optimization in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment.”
As part of the deal to acquire MultiChoice, Canal+ is not allowed to lay off staff for three years, so MultiChoice will not lay off Showmax’s staff and will redeploy them to other positions within the company.
“Showmax’s decision to end its service does not include any layoffs. The group plans to engage and support its employees through a variety of transition options,” the company told Variety.
MultiChoice has already begun to quietly rebrand Showmax Originals as Africa Magic, M-Net, kykNET and Mzansi Magic Originals, with original series moving to various DStv linear TV channels on the MultiChoice pay TV platform.
Showmax’s closure comes two years after Amazon-MGM Studios shocked the creative communities in Nigeria and South Africa in January 2024 by abruptly announcing that it would immediately stop commissioning new local original content in Africa and cancel existing development agreements with more than a dozen production companies.
In January, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said on a conference call with investors that Showmax was “not a commercial success” and that its failure as a streaming service was “clear”.
Saada also said that a decision on the future of Showmax will be made soon, and that the reduction in the Showmax budget, which has been a huge financial loss for MultiChoice, will contribute significantly to Canal+’s overall cost reduction goals.
Canal+ says it will “continue to invest in premium content, innovation and strategic partnerships for MultiChoice subscribers to strengthen our leadership in the African entertainment market.”
“Details about expanding our content offerings and upgrading our platform will be shared in due course. We want Showmax subscribers to be assured that these are our priorities as we evolve our service to deliver a great streaming experience.”
In June, Canal+ and Netflix announced a strategic distribution agreement for Francophone Africa with a new partnership, making Canal+ the first operator to bundle Netflix’s subscription services with traditional pay-TV services in 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sources told Variety that instead of wasting more money trying to compete with Showmax as a struggling independent streamer, Canal+ will likely expand its partnership and roll out this bundled service with Netflix to other parts of Africa.
The award-winning South African director and producer, who has produced several series and films for MultiChoice under the Showmax banner, told Variety that the end of Showmax was a sad day for South African filmmakers. This is because another avenue for them to earn a living by showcasing their work in an industry undergoing turbulent changes will be closed to them.
“Showmax was one of the only platforms available to us that was willing to back bold, authentic stories in a market that has traditionally always played it safe,” the filmmakers said.
“From ‘Koek’ to ‘Adulting,’ ‘Spinners’ to ‘Catch Me a Killer,’ ‘Khaki Fever’ to ‘Youngins,’ ‘Wyfie’ to ‘Dam,’ these are movies and series that would never be produced by competing platforms or broadcasters. The loss of Showmax is a huge blow to the local industry and audiences, and Canal+ There is little hope that something of value will fill the gap.”
“If 2026 is the Year of the Horse, I have a feeling this horse will be sent to a factory to be turned into glue or cheap pie.”
Canal+ is scheduled to report its next financial results on March 11th. This is the group’s first full-year consolidated financial results since it acquired effective control of MultiChoice in September 2025.
