MultiChoice has announced plans to discontinue its streaming service Showmax following what it described as a comprehensive review of its streaming activities.
In a statement, the company said the decision was made by the Showmax Board of Directors as part of a broader strategy to strengthen financial discipline and optimise investments in an increasingly competitive global streaming market.
“MultiChoice, part of CANAL+ SA, today announces the forthcoming discontinuation of the Showmax service, following a comprehensive review of its streaming activities,” the company said.
The group noted that Showmax had continued to incur significant annual losses, making the business unsustainable in the long term.
“The substantial annual losses experienced by the Showmax business have proved unsustainable. The decision to phase out Showmax reflects our focus on building a sustainable, competitive business for the long term in an increasingly demanding global streaming environment,” the statement added.
Despite the closure, MultiChoice said the move will not lead to job losses.
The company also clarified that the move does not signal an exit from streaming, which it described as a key pillar of its long term strategy.
Instead, Multichoice plans to focus resources on its proprietary platform DStv Stream in order to streamline operations and improve customer experience.
“This evolution is also consistent with the ambition of MultiChoice, a CANAL+ Company, to deploy its in-house large-scale streaming platform capable of meeting the expectations of African and international consumers,” the statement said.
MultiChoice further said CANAL+ will continue investing in premium content, technology and strategic partnerships to strengthen its position in the African entertainment market.
The shutdown comes despite Showmax holding a leading 39% share of the African streaming market as of late 2024, briefly overtaking Netflix’s 33.5%.
However, the platform’s financial health failed to match its subscriber growth. In the 2025 financial year, Showmax’s trading losses ballooned by 88 percent, rising from Sh21 billion (R2.6 billion) to Sh39.6 billion (R4.9 billion).
While active paying subscribers grew by 44 percent year on year, the revenue generated, approximately Sh6.1 billion (R750 million), fell drastically short of the Sh81 billion ($1 billion) five year target set during its 2024 “Showmax 2.0” relaunch.