Broadcasting15.01.2024

MultiChoice announces Showmax 2.0 launch date — with a price cut

MultiChoice has announced that Showmax’s general entertainment package will cost R89 per month from 12 February 2024 when it relaunches on its Peacock-based platform.

Showmax has been R99 per month since it launched nearly nine years ago, on 19 August 2015.

At a media event on Monday, MultiChoice South Africa and Showmax CEO Marc Jury announced that the Showmax Premier League mobile plan will be R69 per month, while Showmax Mobile will be R39 per month.

Showmax will also launch a bundled mobile-only general entertainment and Premier League service for R99 per month.

Jury said they have also secured partnerships with third parties, which will offer packages at an even better price point through those resellers.

A registration campaign for the new Showmax will begin on 23 January.

Marc Jury, MultiChoice South Africa and Showmax CEO

A lot is riding on the success of Showmax’s relaunch, with parent company MultiChoice pinning most of its future growth on the platform’s success.

MultiChoice told investors last year they expect it to generate $1 billion (R18.7 billion) in net revenue in 5 years.

The pay-TV operator first revealed its plan to overhaul Showmax in March 2023, when it announced a deal to sell 30% of its streaming service to Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky.

However, Jury said the dream of Showmax 2.0 started as a discussion between MultiChoice chair Imtiaz Patel and new Showmax chairman Andrea Zappia two years ago.

The partnership gives Showmax access to the technology powering NBCUniversal’s Peacock, as well as its content.

In addition to featuring hours of new content and refreshed apps and user interfaces, Showmax 2.0 will offer up to full HD video and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

Showmax 2.0 will still run across smartphones, media boxes, game consoles, and smart TV platforms.

As part of the modernisation, Showmax warned that some older platforms will not be supported.

Asked whether they are considering 4K support to keep pace with international competitors like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon, Jury said they are considering it.

However, it was not a priority for the relaunch because they found the data consumption was excessive for most of the African market, clocking in at around 14GB per hour.

Jury said they realise that 4K support is needed at the top end of the market. However, in the short term, at the price points they have announced, they are unashamedly targeting the mass market to ensure Showmax reaches scale.

Existing features users have come to expect, including downloading content for watching later, kids profiles, and controlling the quality of the video to reduce data consumption are available on the new platform.

The tables below summarise Showmax 2.0’s supported platforms and estimated data usage.

Showmax 2.0 supported platforms

Platform Supported Version
Web Chrome 102+ (Windows/Mac)
Firefox 102+ (Windows/Mac)
MS Edge 102+ (Windows/Mac)
Safari 14+ (Mac)
Smartphones / tablets iOS 14 or above
Android 7.0 or above
Huawei
LG TV LG WebOS 3.5 or above
2016+
LG WebOS 3.0–3.5, support being added for launch
Samsung TV 2016+
Hisense TV 2020+
STBs STB Explora Ultra
STB Streama
Android TV Wide variety of Android TV-enabled Smart TVs, such as Sony Bravia, and set-top boxes, including NVIDIA Shield, running Android OS 5.1
Apple TV Apple TV HD (4th Generation or above) with tvOS 16 or above
Chromecast 1st Generation or above including Chromecast with Google TV
PlayStation PlayStation 4
Xbox Xbox One
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S

Showmax 2.0 estimated data usage

Profile Max resolution On-demand Live (sports – mobile only)
Data Saving 144p 40MB/h (Downloads: 50MB/h) 40MB/h
Basic 360p 160MB/h 240MB/h
Good 432p 270MB/h 500MB/h
Best 1080p 1.2GB/h 2.3GB/h
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