The curtain came down on Showmax on Thursday, 30 April, as the streaming service stopped accepting new subscribers at the end of March this year.
The independent Showmax streaming service concluded its operations on Thursday, while the platform itself is being phased out; however, its content – particularly Showmax Originals and selected titles – will be relocated to a dedicated section within the DStv Stream app. Current users can transition to DStv Stream for uninterrupted viewing, with special promotions available, including DStv Stream Compact at R99/month.
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The closure of Showmax follows the acquisition of Multichoice by the French media giant Canal+ in September 2025.
Canal+ announced in March that the Showmax board made this decision, and it reflects MultiChoice’s ongoing commitment to financial discipline and investment optimisation in a global streaming landscape that is increasingly competitive and capital-intensive. “The significant annual losses incurred by the Showmax business have proven to be unsustainable,” Canal+ announced. The choice to phase out Showmax underscores our dedication to establishing a sustainable and competitive business for the long term in a demanding global streaming environment.”
The French media giant also made it a point that the decision to terminate Showmax services will not lead to any layoffs. The group will be actively engaging with and supporting employees through various transition options.
This development is also aligned with the ambition of MultiChoice, a Canal+ company, to implement its in-house large-scale streaming platform that can meet the expectations of both African and international consumers.
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Showmax officially launched on 19 August 2015, offering more than merely a collection of television series and films. It embodied Naspers’ belief that South Africa could establish a streaming service that competes on a global scale from Johannesburg, outpacing Netflix in its own territory and leveraging local content as a means to maintain its position.
In a recent interview broadcast by Newzroom Afrika, Jack Devnarain, the Chairperson of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA), discussed the precarious nature of the local industry. He noted that with global dynamics constantly evolving, the local sector remains vulnerable, particularly as South Africa has been portrayed as an unregulated market. This perception facilitates the entry of international firms into the country, allowing them to benefit from the absence of compliance with domestic regulations, stipulations, or conditions, a situation that has been underscored by the closure of Showmax.
“The reality of the industry and certainly the global industry is that there are changes. South Africa has to get used to changes in the same way Canal+ came in and took over one of the big South African brands in MultiChoice.
“We have to get used to new branding, new offerings, new services, and new subscription platforms, and we have to try and establish our interests as content creators, producers, and actors; we’ve got to try and make sure that our concerns and needs are being catered to as well to the extent that they can,” he told Newzroom Afrika.
Following the closure of Showmax, one of South Africa’s prominent film directors, Mandla Ndimande, widely recognised as Mandla N, stated that this situation has presented a “significant opportunity” for producers and actors to unite, assess their positions, and articulate their desires as an industry.
As Showmax concluded its operations in April, this decision was made after Canal+ committed to reducing expenses, as Showmax’s revenue plummeted from €12 million in the first quarter of 2025 to €9 million in the first quarter of 2026 – a 25% decline within a single year on a platform that was expected to be experiencing robust growth.
