Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada disclosed that MultiChoice’s streaming service, Showmax, has not achieved the expected commercial success, prompting planned cuts to investment.
During a presentation focused on cost reductions following Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice, Saada stated that Showmax’s underperformance is evident. “It’s clear that Showmax has not been commercially successful. We made significant investments in marketing, content, and technology,” he explained.
Saada emphasised that, despite the cuts, Canal+ remains dedicated to pursuing a careful growth strategy. “We need to assess which investments to keep and which to trim, ensuring that we don’t alienate valuable subscribers,” he said, likening their approach to gently removing a Band-Aid.
Canal+ assumed control of the MultiChoice Group in September 2025 after a lengthy buyout process, with the finalisation on October 13, 2025. Showmax, which launched in 2015, underwent a major relaunch as Showmax 2.0 in February 2024, a turning point that MultiChoice was optimistic about.
Expectations were high for the revamped platform, with MultiChoice forecasting US$1 billion in net revenue in five years. Plans for Showmax began to emerge in March 2023, when MultiChoice announced a deal to access technology from NBCUniversal’s Peacock and sell a 30% stake in Showmax to NBCUniversal and Sky.
The company made considerable investments in promoting Showmax, introducing three subscription tiers: Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile, and Showmax Premier League, the latter a mobile-only plan offering access to all 380 English Premier League matches.
Showmax promised an expanded local content library featuring 21 original shows from four African countries, with an ambitious goal of releasing 1,300 hours of new original programming in 2024. This strategy aimed to leverage the growing African streaming market, home to over 450 million smartphone users and 250 million football fans.
Calvo Mawela, CEO of MultiChoice Group, stressed the urgency of acting quickly: “We must move now before competitors take advantage of what is seen as the last major growth market in Africa.”
A year after the relaunch, MultiChoice reported a 50% increase in Showmax’s subscriber base by September 2024, noting the platform’s recognition at awards as evidence of its growing impact.
However, despite this growth, Showmax fell short of expectations. In the 2025 financial year, the platform recorded 44% growth in users, generating US$475 thousand in revenue, but the discontinuation of services such as Showmax Pro impacted performance.
Initially, MultiChoice anticipated that losses would decrease by 2025, but instead, Showmax’s trading losses increased by 88%, rising from US$164 million to US$307 million. These results reflect ongoing startup costs and challenges in regaining market momentum.
