According to a detailed report by Variety, French media giant Canal+ has decided to shut down Showmax after completing its acquisition of African pay television company MultiChoice Group.
While the exact closing date has not yet been announced, insiders say the platform will be discontinued soon as Canal+ and MultiChoice finalise the remaining legal processes.
The news marks a major shift in Africa’s streaming landscape and raises questions about the future of local streaming platforms on the continent.
Why Canal+ is closing Showmax
Showmax was originally launched in August 2015 by MultiChoice as Africa’s answer to the growing global streaming market. At the time, international platforms such as Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video and Disney+ were expanding rapidly across the continent.
The goal was to build a strong African streaming service that could combine international entertainment with locally produced films and television series. However, despite the ambition behind the project, the platform struggled to compete with global streaming giants that had far bigger budgets and international subscriber bases.
Billions invested into the platform
In 2024, MultiChoice partnered with NBCUniversal to relaunch Showmax using the technology behind the Peacock platform. The relaunch was meant to modernise the service and give it the technological strength needed to compete internationally.
Together, the companies invested around 309 million dollars (R4.9 billion) to rebuild the platform and expand its content offering across Africa. Despite the massive investment, the platform continued to record growing financial losses and declining revenue.
Canal+, which now controls MultiChoice, has since begun implementing aggressive cost-cutting measures. The company aims to reduce expenses by about 400 million euros (R7.5 billion) by 2030, and Showmax, widely seen as an underperforming investment, became one of the first operations under review.
No job losses expected
Even though the streaming platform will shut down, MultiChoice says there will be no job losses linked to the decision.
Under the terms of the Canal+ takeover, the company is not allowed to retrench employees for three years. Instead, staff who were working on Showmax will be reassigned to other roles within the broader MultiChoice group.
What happens to Showmax Originals
While the streaming platform may disappear, many of the shows produced for it will continue to exist within the MultiChoice ecosystem. The company has already started quietly moving several productions previously branded as Showmax Originals onto traditional television channels such as M-Net, Africa Magic, Mzansi Magic and kykNET.
Over the past few years, Showmax helped produce a number of notable local series, including Adulting, Spinners, Youngins and Catch Me a Killer. These productions played a major role in expanding African storytelling within the streaming era.
A blow for African Filmmakers
The closure of Showmax has raised concerns within the African film and television industry. One award-winning South African filmmaker told Variety that Showmax provided a rare platform willing to support bold and authentic African stories that traditional broadcasters often avoided.
For many creators, the platform offered an opportunity to experiment with new narratives and showcase stories that might otherwise struggle to find funding or distribution.
Canal+ may focus on Netflix partnerships
Instead of competing directly with global streaming services, Canal+ may now shift its focus toward partnerships.
The company recently signed a distribution agreement with Netflix that allows Canal+ customers in 24 Sub Saharan African countries to access Netflix through their pay television packages.
Industry insiders believe this partnership could eventually expand across the rest of Africa, potentially replacing the role that Showmax once aimed to play as a standalone streaming platform.
What this means for streaming in Africa
The shutdown of Showmax represents a major turning point for Africa’s streaming industry. The platform was once positioned as the continent’s strongest competitor to international streaming services, but the high cost of producing original content and maintaining streaming technology made the model difficult to sustain.
For viewers, the future may increasingly revolve around traditional pay television platforms that bundle global streaming services rather than trying to compete with them directly.
More clarity on the future of MultiChoice’s content strategy is expected when Canal+ releases its next financial results
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