Multichoice’s new owner, Canal+, has announced that it will discontinue the Showmax streaming service, marking a major strategic shift in the pay‑TV and streaming landscape in Africa. The platform’s closure is part of a broad effort by the combined group to reduce costs, sharpen its competitive edge, and refocus investment on areas of strength.

In a joint statement, MultiChoice and Canal+ confirmed that the decision to wind down Showmax followed a comprehensive review of the company’s streaming operations. The companies said the move reflects a firm commitment to financial discipline and investment optimisation in an increasingly competitive and capital‑intensive global streaming environment.

Multichoice reiterated that the discontinuation of Showmax would not result in job losses. Under the terms of Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice, no staff may be laid off for a period of three years, and the company went further to assure that employees affected by the Showmax closure would be supported. “The decision to discontinue Showmax services will not involve any retrenchments. The group will be engaging and supporting employees through various transition options,” Multichoice said.

Canal+ Chief Executive Officer Maxime Saada has previously described Showmax as “not a commercial success,” indicating that the platform had become a significant financial burden for its former owners. While that characterisation underscored the challenges of competing with global streaming giants, Canal+ stressed that the broader business remains committed to growth in Africa’s media market.

In its statement, the company said it would continue to invest in premium content for MultiChoice subscribers, technological innovation and strategic partnerships to consolidate its leadership in the African entertainment market. “Further details regarding our expanded content offering and platform upgrades will be shared in due course. We want to reassure our Showmax subscribers that they are our priority as we evolve our services to deliver a superior streaming experience,” the statement added.

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Showmax was launched by MultiChoice in August 2015 as a pan‑African streaming platform aimed at competing with international services such as Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+. In February 2024, the platform was relaunched in partnership with NBCUniversal, leveraging technology from the U.S. media company’s Peacock streaming service. The relaunch was backed by considerable investment, with MultiChoice and NBCUniversal injecting roughly $309 million in equity funding into the service for technology upgrades and content expansion.

Despite that investment, the platform struggled to meet subscriber growth expectations. In the final financial results published prior to Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice, Showmax had reported an 88 percent widening in trading losses and declining revenue, underscoring the scale of the challenge.

The acquisition of MultiChoice by France’s Canal+ was finalised in September last year in a deal valued at about US$3 billion, creating a global media group with more than 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia, and a workforce of roughly 17,000 employees.

Canal+ has said the combined group will place strong emphasis on investment in local content, sports broadcasting, and digital innovation, while leveraging MultiChoice’s deep knowledge of African consumer trends and regulatory environments to strengthen its position in emerging markets. The company has signalled that a detailed strategic update, including expected synergies from the integration, will be provided in the first quarter of 2026.

The closure of Showmax marks a notable milestone in the evolution of digital entertainment in Africa and highlights the challenges that local streaming platforms face in a market dominated by deep‑pocketed global competitors.

Meiza Nigeria