A new partnership between MultiChoice Group and Comcast will see African subscribers gain access to a standalone live Premier League soccer plan on mobile as part of the revamped Showmax video streaming platform.
MultiChoice, Africa’s biggest pay-TV company, has been investing heavily to compete with international streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, some of which have also invested in local content.
Last year, the group partnered with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky to revamp MultiChoice’s existing Showmax streaming service, built on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform.
Showmax CEO Marc Jury unveiled the plans at a launch event, revealing that at the heart of the new offering is the standalone Premier League plan, allowing Showmax subscribers in Africa to stream the league’s content on their mobile phones.
Other plans include an entertainment-only offering available on mobile and a bundled entertainment and Premier League offering on mobile.
Entertainment will also be available on all devices. Meanwhile, Premier League CEO Richard Masters highlighted Africa’s importance to the league and its clubs, with about 20% of television audiences on any match day coming from the continent.
This, coupled with over 450 million smartphones in the hands of individuals across Africa and more than 250 million avid soccer fans on the continent, inspired the standalone mobile Premier League offering. The new app will also see approximately 21 new Showmax original local content programs launching in February, with a targeted 150% increase in local production output this year.
