Canal+, the new owner of Multichoice Group, is set to discontinue Showmax, the video streaming platform, as part of a broader cost-cutting drive following a review of the company’s streaming operations. The decision, confirmed by both companies, comes as Canal+ seeks to reduce expenses and streamline its business.
Okay News reports that the Showmax board made the decision, reflecting Multichoice’s continued focus on financial discipline and investment optimization in an increasingly competitive global streaming environment. While the companies did not provide a specific timeline, the service is expected to be discontinued soon as legal and operational issues are resolved. Multichoice assured that shutting down Showmax would not affect employees, as Canal+ is prohibited from staff retrenchment for three years under the acquisition agreement.
Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada had earlier in January described Showmax as not a commercial success, noting during an investor call that the platform had become a significant financial burden for Multichoice. Multichoice launched Showmax in August 2015 as a pan-African streaming platform to compete with global services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In February 2024, the company relaunched the platform in partnership with NBCUniversal, injecting about $309 million in equity funding for content creation and platform upgrades.
However, the investments failed to deliver aggressive subscriber growth targets, with Showmax’s trading losses widening by 88 percent and revenue declining in the last financial results before the Canal+ takeover. Canal+ finalized its acquisition of Multichoice in September last year in a landmark deal estimated at $3 billion, creating a global media powerhouse serving over 40 million subscribers across nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia. The combined group plans to focus heavily on investment in local content, sports broadcasting, and digital innovation. This streaming platform shutdown reflects the challenges of competing in the capital-intensive global streaming market.
