Friday, 6th of March, 2026

The African streaming market is entering a new phase after Canal Plus confirmed that the Showmax platform will be discontinued following years of heavy financial losses. The decision marks the end of one of the continent’s most ambitious attempts to build a homegrown streaming competitor capable of challenging global giants such as Netflix and Disney Plus.

Financial figures reveal the scale of the challenge. During its peak investment year, Showmax recorded losses of roughly four point nine billion rand. That translates to more than thirteen million rand lost every day, highlighting the enormous financial pressure the platform placed on its parent company MultiChoice.

The losses represented a dramatic increase from the previous year, when Showmax reported losses of around two point six billion rand. The sharp rise was largely driven by the costly relaunch of the platform, which included rebuilding the service using the Peacock streaming technology developed by American media giant Comcast.

Despite the extensive investment, the platform struggled to generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operations. Showmax generated only about seven hundred and fifty million rand in revenue during the same period, meaning the service was spending more than six rand for every rand it earned.

The relaunch was originally designed to position Showmax as Africa’s leading streaming platform. MultiChoice hoped that access to Comcast’s content pipeline, which included Hollywood studios and international television networks, would attract large audiences across the continent.

However, the realities of the African market presented major obstacles. Streaming services rely heavily on reliable broadband infrastructure and affordable data costs, both of which remain uneven across many parts of Africa. High mobile data costs and inconsistent connectivity limited subscriber growth, preventing the platform from achieving the scale needed to offset its expenses.

The financial impact of the losses extended beyond the streaming division. The sharp increase in Showmax’s losses contributed significantly to a decline in MultiChoice’s overall trading profit, cutting the group’s earnings by nearly half during the same financial period.

Following its acquisition of MultiChoice, Canal Plus is now implementing a new strategy. Instead of continuing with the Showmax platform, the company intends to roll out its own streaming ecosystem using the myCanal and TV Plus applications already operating in other international markets.

These platforms have been designed with lower bandwidth environments in mind, offering features such as offline viewing and better integration between mobile and television devices.

For existing subscribers, the closure of Showmax means the current service will eventually disappear. Canal Plus has indicated that further announcements will be made about how customers will transition to the new platform and what content offerings will remain available.

SOURCE: Daily Maverick – Lindsey Schutters