Speaking during Canal+’s presentation on cost-cutting targets following its acquisition of MultiChoice, Saada was asked about his company’s plans for Showmax.
“Showmax is not a commercial success. It’s quite obvious. There were a lot of dedicated investments on the marketing side, on the content side, on the technology side,” the CEO said.
“We are in a position to reduce those investments. They are included in the synergies. I won’t say how much, but it is significant.”
However, he explained that their strategy was all about growth. So, when making these decisions, Canal+ will be very careful to avoid losing potentially valuable subscribers.
“Although we are very quick at assessing the investments that we believe are required and those that are not. We are also very cautious not to negatively impact the top line,” Saada said.
“Otherwise, it would be like a bandaid we could rip off, but we are not going to do that. There was so much investment there that we had a lot of room to improve the situation.”
Groupe Canal+ gained control of the MultiChoice Group in September 2025, following a lengthy mandatory buyout process. The final phase of the transaction commenced on 13 October 2025.
MultiChoice first launched its Showmax streaming platform in 2015. However, it received significant upgrades and relaunched as Showmax 2.0 in February 2024.
The DStv-owner had high hopes for the revamped platform, pinning its entire future on it and telling investors that it expected to generate $1 billion (R15.7 billion) in net revenue in five years.
The first indications of MultiChoice’s plans for Showmax surfaced in March 2023, when it announced a deal that would give its streaming service access to the technology behind NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
The deal’s terms stipulated that MultiChoice would sell a 30% stake in Showmax to NBCUniversal and Sky.
Showmax 2.0
MultiChoice invested in marketing, technology, and new content for Showmax’s relaunch. MultiChoice announced three subscription plans for Showmax alongside its relaunch.
These are Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile, and Showmax Premier League. The latter is a mobile-only subscription providing access to all 380 English Premier League matches.
Showmax Entertainment offers content like series, movies, and kids’ shows. It is also available in a mobile-only format for a lower monthly fee.
Showmax’s relaunch included an expanded local catalogue, including 21 Showmax Originals from four African countries. It promised that 1,300 hours of new Showmax Originals would be released in 2024.
The company’s strategy aimed to leverage the African streaming market entering an anticipated boom phase, and position Showmax to become the continent’s leading video streaming service.
It highlighted that Africa is home to more than 450 million smartphone users and 250 million football lovers, which MultiChoice saw as a significant untapped market.
“It is critical that we make our move now before others reorganise themselves and make a play for Africa, which is seen as the last remaining growth market,” MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela said.
A year after Showmax’s relaunch, MultiChoice said it was seeing significant growth in its subscriber base, with the number of paying customers increasing 50% year-on-year by September 2024.
“It was a landmark year for Showmax, which grew its paying subscriber base, excluding discontinued services, by 50% year-on-year,” it said.
In its results for the period, the broadcaster said it expected the growth to accelerate as its strategic initiatives start to bear fruit.
“Showmax streamer was named Best Television/Streaming Network at The National Film and TV Awards South Africa and Entertainment App of the Year at the Stuff App Awards,” it added.
While the streaming platform recorded further year-on-year growth in the 2025 financial year, it hasn’t been the success that MultiChoice had envisioned.
The streamer recorded 44% year-on-year growth and said the number of Showmax Originals offered on the platform had increased to 89.
The revenue it generated during the financial year was approximately R750 million, and MultiChoice said its revenue growth was impacted by discontinued products, like Showmax Pro, ahead of the relaunch.
MultiChoice initially projected that Showmax would make trading losses, which would begin decreasing by the 2025 financial year. However, the opposite happened.
MultiChoice’s latest annual results showed that Showmax’s trading loss had worsened by 88% from R2.6 billion to R4.9 billion. At the same time, revenue also significantly declined.
“The increased trading losses reflect the start-up nature of the business, with a step-change in content costs and increased platform costs,” MultiChoice said.
“Its results were also impacted by discontinuation of the Showmax Pro and diaspora packages in 2H FY24, prior to re-launch.”
The Group also recognised a R1.5 billion net loss from Showmax in its bottom line for its last financial year. Considering it owns 70% of the platform indicates that its overall net loss was R2.15 billion.
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