Business

Showmax Crash Landing: MultiChoice’s Streaming Vision Meets a Tough Reality

Published

2 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Chiraag

MultiChoice Showmax decline, Showmax business strategy challenges, streaming service Africa struggle, financial losses streaming platform, Joburg ETC

A bold vision for Africa’s streaming future

A few years ago, MultiChoice spoke confidently about the continent’s potential as the next big streaming battleground. Showmax was positioned not just as another option but as the company’s new engine of growth. Executives told investors that Africa’s fast-improving internet access would soon meet a growing hunger for local entertainment. The plan was ambitious. One billion dollars in annual revenue. Sixteen million active subscribers. A healthy earnings margin. It sounded like the start of a proudly African streaming success story.

South Africans and viewers across the continent were excited to see a local player step up. Finally, a streaming platform that understood African tastes, languages, and price sensitivities. With heavy investment into local productions and a strategic partnership with global giant Comcast, MultiChoice believed Showmax had a competitive advantage over international rivals like Netflix.

The relaunch that promised a turning point

In early 2024, the company hit refresh. Showmax 2.0 arrived with new branding and new packages in 44 African markets. MultiChoice spent billions upgrading the platform to better serve African users. Confidence remained high. Growth was expected to spike. The African streaming inflection point had supposedly arrived.

On paper, the targets seemed reachable. If Showmax could gather millions more subscribers, each paying an affordable monthly amount, the numbers would begin to tilt the right way. A future where Showmax would stand tall beside DStv and pull in a combined 50 million users across the group was painted with enthusiasm.

The reality check nobody wanted

But while the subscriber count did rise through cheaper packages, revenue did not. The growth needed to transform Showmax into a profitable star performer simply did not appear.

Instead of an upward curve, the 2025 financial year delivered a troubling picture. Paying subscriber revenues declined. Trading losses nearly doubled, hitting almost five billion rand. Investment kept flowing out, and the expected returns did not follow. Lenders and investors raised red flags. That confidence from 2023 suddenly felt overly hopeful.

Inside the business, there is now acceptance that the original plan fell short. As one looks at the latest results, the projections missed by a country mile. Markets, naturally, do not respond kindly when grand promises collapse into tougher truth.

A moment to rethink

MultiChoice has acknowledged that four years is a short time to build a streaming empire in a market with uneven data costs and strong international competitors. Yet it also knows it needs a more grounded strategy. It remains committed to cost control and managing the road to break-even. The big question is whether Showmax can ever truly become the continental leader it was sold as.

South Africans love streaming content that reflects local life. That has not changed. However, the economics of entertainment technology are harsher than ever. For Showmax to win, it must grow smarter, not only bigger.

What comes next

This reckoning does not mean the story is over. If anything, it could mark the moment that forces a turnaround. MultiChoice still has valuable strengths that foreign competitors lack. The difference now is that the excitement has been replaced with a sense of urgency.

The streaming race in Africa continues, and viewers remain spoilt for choice. What remains to be seen is whether Showmax can rise from this setback and finally become the African powerhouse MultiChoice believed it would be.