Is The 24 Hour WWE Channel Going Dark On DStv?

During the month, it was reported that WWE would be streaming on Netflix in April for viewers across Africa, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This comes ahead of WrestleMania 42 which is scheduled to broadcast on April 18.

The question on some people's minds right now is about the fate of WWE on SuperSport. As it was understood, MultiChoice had an existing agreement which was scheduled or so we thought to expire in 2027 with the latter consolidated under Netflix.

But after Netflix sent notice to viewers, we reached out to them (even WWE) for further confirmation on the matter and this was their response.

 

Starting on 1 April 2026, WWE content will be exclusively available on Netflix.

SuperSport was asked several times about WWE's move to Netflix and whether this would lead to the removal of its content on SuperSport as well as the cancellation of the 24 hour channel and Jambo WWE.

First response: There's no confirmation at this stage 

Last response: No, it is not leaving 

During the year, MultiChoice widened the reach of the 24 hour WWE channel to its DStv Access consumers alongside Trace Gospel and Trace Ngoma. Canal+ Afrique currently distributes the WWE channel to consumers in French markets.

Canal+ Axes MultiChoice Streamer Showmax

Canal+, busy with aggressive cost-cutting since it recently acquired Africa’s MultiChoice pay-TV group, is shuttering its loss-making and money-guzzling video streaming service Showmax that MultiChoice ran in partnership with NBCUniversal.

Variety has reliably learnt that Showmax will definitely be shuttered “soon” although a specific date isn’t yet available given a few remaining legal implications Canal+ and MultiChoice are sorting out.

Canal+ and MultiChoice confirmed the end of Showmax to Variety, saying there will be a “discontinuation of the Showmax service, following a comprehensive review of its streaming activities.”

MultiChoice launched Showmax across Africa 11 years ago in August 2015 to compete with the advent of streamers like Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+ and others which all became available on the continent and started biting into MultiChoice’s legacy pay-TV subscriber base.

Two years ago, in February 2024, MultiChoice, in partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal, relaunched Showmax, utilizing the technology behind the Peacock streaming service.

Millions of dollars were poured into the retooling of Showmax’s IT-platform and on content spending to boost the pan-African streamer in its fight against Netflix but it ultimately proved fruitless.

MultiChoice and NBCUniversal roughly poured a combined $309 million in equity funding into Showmax to primarily fuel content creation, but nothing came of the aggressive growth and subscriber uptake targets MultiChoice executives had promised investors before it relaunched.

Looking to shave a combined 400 million euro by 2030 in cost-cutting, including content cuts from the combined Canal+ group, the underperforming and money-guzzling Showmax is the latest victim of Canal+’s rightsizing at MultiChoice.

NBCUniversal has a 30% stake in Showmax as a joint venture. In its last annual results before the Canal+ takeover, MultiChoice revealed that Showmax’s trading losses had worsened by 88% while revenue significantly declined.

According to the company, “The decision to axe Showmax was made by the Showmax board and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice, a Canal+ company, on financial discipline and investment optimization, in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment.”

Since Canal+, as part of its agreement to take over MultiChoice, isn’t allowed to get rid of any staff for a period of three years, MultiChoice won’t let any Showmax staff go but will reassign them to other positions within the broader company.

“The decision to discontinue Showmax services will not involve any retrenchments. The group will be engaging and supporting employees through various transition options,” it told Variety.

MultiChoice has already started to quietly rebrand Showmax Originals as Africa Magic, M-Net, kykNET and Mzansi Magic Originals, with original series that will transition to these various DStv linear TV channels on MultiChoice pay-TV platform.

Showmax’s closure comes two years after Amazon MGM Studios shocked Nigeria and South Africa’s creative community in January 2024 when it abruptly announced that it would immediately stop commissioning any new local original content in Africa, and also killed already-existing development deals with a dozen production companies.

In January, during an investors’ call, Maxime Saada, Canal+ CEO, said that Showmax was “not a commercial success” and that its failure as a streaming service was “quite obvious.”

Saada also said that a decision about Showmax’s future would be made soon and that a reduction in the Showmax budget, which has been a huge financial drain on MultiChoice, would contribute significantly to Canal+’s overall cost-cutting goals.

Canal+ says it will “continue to invest in premium content for MultiChoice subscribers, technological innovation and strategic partnerships to consolidate its leadership in the African entertainment market.”

“Further details regarding our expanded content offering and platform upgrades will be shared in due course. We want to reassure our Showmax subscribers that they are our priority as we evolve our services to deliver a superior streaming experience.”

In June, Canal+ and Netflix announced a strategic distribution agreement for Francophone Africa with a new partnership through which Canal+ became the first operator to bundle Netflix subscriptions into its traditional pay-TV offering across 24 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Insiders told Variety that instead of wasting further money through trying to compete with Showmax as a struggling stand-alone streamer, Canal+ is likely to expand its partnership and roll out this Netflix-bundling into the rest of Africa.

An award-winning South African director-producer who has made several series and films for MultiChoice under the Showmax banner, told Variety the end of Showmax is a sad day for South African filmmakers since it closes yet another avenue to showcase work and earn a living in an industry undergoing tumultuous change.

“Showmax was one of the only platforms available to us that was willing to back stories that were bold and authentic in a market that has traditionally always played things safe,” the filmmaker said.

“From ‘Koek’ to ‘Adulting,’ ‘Spinners’ to ‘Catch Me a Killer,’ ‘Khaki Fever’ to ‘Youngins,’ ‘Wyfie’ to ‘Dam,’ these are films and series which would never be created by rival platforms or broadcasters. Losing Showmax is a huge blow to the local industry and audiences, with Canal+ giving us very little to hope that they will fill that gap with anything of value.”

“If 2026 is the Year of the Horse, it feels like this one is getting sent to the factory to be turned into glue and cheap pies.”

Canal+ is scheduled to report its next set of financial results on March 11. This will be the first full-year combined results since the group took effective control of MultiChoice in September 2025.

MultiChoice Might Be Widening The Reach Of SuperSport Play Channel To More DStv Customers

SuperSport Play is regarded as freemium sports channel, by free we mean available to consumers without an monthly DStv subscription. All you need to do is create a free account on DStv Stream to access the channel.

The suffix "-mium" is basically premium as it offers a mixture of sports from football (e.g. Betway Premiership, some Premier League matches), rugby (Super Rugby, Six Nations, NRL), cricket (1-Day Cup, ICC events), golf (PGA, LPGA, LIV, Sunshine Tour), 

To some degree, you could say it's a mashup of SuperSport Blitz (news coverage and highlights), Grandstand (overflows or simulcast airings) and Variety 4 (school events and local content).

SuperSport Play is available to DStv Free-To-View customers as well as Premium and Easyview customers through the DStv Stream app. Similar to SuperSport Schools, it looks like MultiChoice might be widening it reach for consumers.

We can only assume under Canal+, this was probably another way to enhance consumer's experience. Under the Naspers regime, MultiChoice was very hesitant in making some of its live matches available on a package like DStv Access.

Now consumers on Access not only get to watch La Liga matches live but also RAW and SmackDown on the 24 hour WWE channel.

Besides that, there was also chatter last year about possibly launching a standalone SuperSport package. Although we're not holding our breath on that best guess is them partnering up with Netflix to give consumers access to SuperSport.

SABC Wants To Launch An Afrikaans TV Channel

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has revealed ambitious plans to launch a dedicated Afrikaans television channel as part of a broader strategy to win back its disaffected audience.

This move follows a U-turn by the public broadcaster, which recently admitted to making significant strategic errors by cutting popular Afrikaans content and moving its flagship news bulletin.

SABC head of platforms David Makubyane told Rapport that the broadcaster needs to expand its offering rather than scale down, despite its dire financial situation, to better fulfil its public benefit mandate.

“We actually need more TV channels, instead of scaling down,” Makubyane stated.

“Now that we have the digital space, one asks: Why don’t we have a Nguni channel? Why don’t we have an Afrikaans channel? Or a children’s channel or a documentary channel?”

In addition to such plans, the SABC is in the final testing phase of a dedicated RSG app. The app is designed to reach Afrikaans radio listeners globally and follows a recent redesign of the station’s website.

These developments come as the SABC attempts to repair its relationship with the Afrikaans community.

The broadcaster previously admitted that cutting long-running shows like 7de Laan and Fokus was part of an “expensive trial-and-error” process that lacked proper market research.

In addition to cutting the two–decade–old shows, it moved all its remaining Afrikaans programming to S3 (formerly SABC 3), which has substantially lower viewership and advertiser appeal.

That included shifting the Afrikaans news bulletin from 18:30 on SABC 2 to 20:30 on S3. That move was widely criticised by Afrikaans viewers, many of whom said they were already in bed by that time.

The broadcaster’s complete omission of the bulletin over the weekend of 5 and 6 April 2025 caused an uproar.

The SABC’s Afrikaans strategy confused many industry insiders, who warned that the Afrikaans audience was still attractive to advertisers.

The public broadcasters’ own research showed that DStv’s kykNET was the most valuable channel for advertisers in South Africa.

While many viewers and industry commentators concluded that the SABC’s decision was ideologically motivated, the real reason it wanted to move Afrikaans programming to S3 may be more nuanced.

In a presentation to a parliamentary subcommittee about potential financial models to replace SABC TV Licences, BMIT revealed that SABC 2 was classified as “non-commercial”, whereas S3 was a commercial channel.

Another R700 million bailout

The SABC’s grand ambitions are being overshadowed by a deepening financial crisis that threatens its very ability to remain on air.

The broadcaster informed the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications in February that it urgently requires R120 million in additional funding to cover the upcoming local government elections.

National Treasury rejected it, and SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli warned that without this funding, the broadcaster will be unable to deploy the necessary infrastructure and personnel for nationwide election coverage.

“Without funding, the SABC will not be able to deploy infrastructure, personnel and resources on an appropriate scale nationwide for sufficient election coverage,” Chabeli told the subcommittee.

The financial pressure is compounded by a massive R1.5 billion debt owed to the state-owned signal distributor, Sentech. The SABC is currently unable to pay this debt, which has left Sentech itself at risk of collapse.

The broadcaster is currently pinning its hopes on a R700 million bailout from the National Treasury, which was recently earmarked to help settle the historic Sentech debt and ensure operational continuity.

Communications minister Solly Malatsi recently confirmed that a R700-million allocation announced for his department in the 2026 Budget Speech will go towards clearing the SABC’s debt.

“This is primarily to ensure that, from a Sentech liquidity perspective, we keep the operations to ensure that all broadcasters can have access to signal distribution.” 

Article was published by Mybroadband 

March 2026 On Nickelodeon Across Europe And Africa | Channel Premiere: The Marsupilamis | Returning Shows Including TMNT | More

Nickelodeon 

A brand new episode of The Loud House:

- 2026-03-10 10:30 9x13 Summer Camp: Ticked Off - season nine finale

-- Brand new The Patrick Star Show episodes:

- 2026-03-04 09:00 4x06a Sea Haw

- 2026-03-05 09:00 4x06b Li'l Past-cals

- 2026-03-06 09:00 4x07a Zoo U

- 2026-03-07 09:00 4x07b A Remembrance of Grand-Past

- 2026-03-10 09:00 4x08a Pat-Tathlon

- 2026-03-11 09:00 4x08b Upturn's Downturn

- 2026-03-12 09:00 4x09a In a Space Pickle

- 2026-03-13 09:00 4x09b Stare Wars

- 2026-03-16 09:00 4x10a Safety Worst

- 2026-03-17 09:00 4x10b De-Pat-ment Store

- 2026-03-18 09:00 4x12a Visiting Vikings

- 2026-03-19 09:00 4x12b It's Too Late...With Plankton

- 2026-03-20 09:00 4x13 Terror on Tape - season four finale (Halloween special)

-- Brand new episodes of Rugrats (2021) season two:

- 2026-03-01 22:15 2x15 The Climb / Wolf at the Door

- 2026-03-02 22:15 2x16 Chuckie Little / What's Your Wish

- 2026-03-03 22:15 2x14 Mini-Mommy / No Talking

- 2026-03-04 22:15 2x17 A Scare to Remember / The Long Playdate

- 2026-03-05 22:15 2x18 Guitar Man / Uncle Jake's Day Out

- 2026-03-06 22:15 2x21 Purim

- 2026-03-07 22:15 2x19 Surving Dil / Reptar's Mama

- 2026-03-08 22:15 2x20 The Heist / The Lambster

- 2026-03-09 22:15 2x22 The Tommy / Breaking Begley

- 2026-03-10 22:15 2x23 Big Night / No, No, Nana

- 2026-03-11 22:15 2x24 The Sleepover / The Favor

- 2026-03-12 22:15 2x25 Chuckie Come Home - Part 1

- 2026-03-13 22:15 2x26 Chuckie Come Home - Part 2 - season two finale; possible series finale

-- Brand new episodes of The Smurfs season four:

- 2026-03-30 07:00 4x06 We Smurfed on the Moon

- 2026-03-31 07:00 4x07 Big Baby / Don't Smurf a Sound

-- The brand new show The Marsupilamis:

- 2026-03-09 09:45 1x05a Mar-Snoop - series premiere

- 2026-03-09 09:55 1x01a Jade the Juggler

- 2026-03-10 09:45 1x01b Parcel Chase

- 2026-03-11 09:45 1x02a Jade the Influencer

- 2026-03-12 09:45 1x02b Restaurant Review

- 2026-03-13 09:45 1x03a Dance Off

- 2026-03-16 09:45 1x03b The show must go on

- 2026-03-17 09:45 1x04a Houbi Houba Heist

- 2026-03-18 09:45 1x04b Twister's Treehouse

- 2026-03-19 09:45 1x05b Canteen Carnage

Nicktoons

* is a premiere for Europe

-- New episodes of Bubble Guppies*:

- 2026-03-01 02:35 3x26 Fruit Camp!

- 2026-03-08 02:35 3x01 Get Ready for School!

- 2026-03-15 02:35 3x03 The Elephant Trunk-A-Dunk!

- 2026-03-22 02:35 3x04 The Super Ballet Bowl!

- 2026-03-29 02:35 3x05 The Wizard of Oz-tralia!

-- New episodes of Dora the Explorer*:

- 2026-03-06 02:20 8x16 Dora and the Very Sleepy Bear

- 2026-03-13 02:20 8x17 Let's Go to Music School

- 2026-03-20 02:20 8x18 Dora and Boots Help the Fairy Godmother

- 2026-03-27 02:20 8x19 Dora's Animalito Adventure

-- New episodes of Harvey Beaks*:

- 2026-03-04 01:55 2x01 Steampunks Part 1 - season two premiere

- 2026-03-11 01:55 2x02 Steampunks Part 2

- 2026-03-18 01:55 2x03 The New Bugaboo / The Case of the Missing Pancake

- 2026-03-25 01:55 2x04 Kathy with a K / Harvey's Pet Plant

-- New episodes of Wallykazam!*:

- 2026-03-04 02:20 1x22 The Dragon Games

- 2026-03-11 02:20 1x24 The Big Goblin Problem Part 1

- 2026-03-18 02:20 1x25 The Big Goblin Problem Part 2

- 2026-03-25 02:20 1x26 The Explorers Club - season one finale

-- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season two (channel premiere):

- 2026-03-09 09:25 2x01 Mutant Battle Arena - season two premiere

- 2026-03-10 09:25 2x02 Mutantweight Title Bout

- 2026-03-11 09:25 2x03 Raph Fights Everyone

- 2026-03-12 09:25 2x04 The Island

- 2026-03-16 09:25 2x05 The Other Mutanimals

- 2026-03-17 09:25 2x06 The Rejects

- 2026-03-18 09:25 2x07 Rise of the Night Ninja

- 2026-03-19 09:25 2x08 The Night Ninja Returns

- 2026-03-23 09:25 2x09 The Itching Scratch

- 2026-03-24 09:25 2x10 Get Rod

- 2026-03-25 09:25 2x11 The Unusual Suspects

- 2026-03-26 09:25 2x12 The Big Muck - series finale

-- New episodes of Nella the Princess Knight*:

- 2026-03-05 01:55 2x05 A Need For Steed / Trinket's Lost Voice

- 2026-03-12 01:55 2x06 See You Later Gladiator / Clod O'Matic

- 2026-03-19 01:55 2x07 Trinket's Bad Hair Day / Blaine Stirs Things Up!

- 2026-03-26 01:55 2x08 Nella in Bowling Land / A Tricksy Wedding

-- New episodes of Rusty Rivets*:

- 2026-03-03 02:40 1x06 Rusty Marks The Spot / Rusty's Bits On The Fritz

- 2026-03-10 02:40 1x07 Rusty Digs In / Rusty's Brave Cave Save

- 2026-03-17 02:40 1x08 Rusty Goes Bananas / Rusty's Night Lights

- 2026-03-24 02:40 1x09 Rusty's Bit In The Woods / Rusty's Stuffy Toughy

- 2026-03-31 02:40 1x10 Rusty's Nest Friend Forever / Rusty's Flingbot

-- New episodes of Planet Sheen*:

- 2026-03-07 02:20 1x11 Ooze on First / Monster-Fighting Combat Strike Force

- 2026-03-14 02:20 1x12 To Chill A Mocking Blurg / Now You Sheen It

- 2026-03-21 02:20 1x13 Desperate Houseguests / Nesvidanya - series finale

- 2026-03-28 02:20 1x01 Pilot

-- New episodes of Shimmer and Shine*:

- 2026-03-03 02:20 4x08 Zahracorn Tickles / The Zahracorn Salon

- 2026-03-10 02:20 4x09 The Sky Garden / The Dragon Zahracorn

- 2026-03-17 02:20 4x10 Buddies in a Bottle / The Gem Hunt

- 2026-03-24 02:20 4x11 The Dragon Rider

- 2026-03-31 02:20 4x12 Boom Zahra-Bake! / Rocket's Big Bark

-- Brand new episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants:

- 2026-03-30 15:00 15x10b MuseBob ModelPants

- 2026-03-31 15:00 15x11a Delivery of Doom

-- Brand new episodes of Super Duper Bunny League:

- 2026-03-02 14:00 2x11b Funny Bunny!

- 2026-03-03 14:00 2x12a Lizard Lips Returns!

- 2026-03-04 14:00 2x12b Beta Carrotron!

- 2026-03-05 14:00 2x13a Greazy Granny!

- 2026-03-06 14:00 2x13b Escape from Happy Camp! - series finale

-- New episodes of Top Wing*:

- 2026-03-07 02:40 1x09 Chicks On The Loose / Rod's Dream Of Flying

- 2026-03-14 02:40 1x10 Beaver Dam Rescue / The Great Goat-Cart Race

- 2026-03-21 02:40 1x11 The Banana Bandits / Shirley's Rocket Adventure

- 2026-03-28 02:40 1x12 Top Wing's Eggcellent Rescue / The Great Pearl-A-Palooza Caper

--New episodes of Winx Club (The Original Series)*:

- 2026-03-04 02:40 6x05 The Golden Auditorium

- 2026-03-11 02:40 6x06 Vortex of Flames

- 2026-03-18 02:40 6x07 The Lost Library

- 2026-03-25 02:40 6x08 Attack of the Sphinx