Showmax 2.0 win

Showmax 2.0 is officially a year old and is seeing significant growth in its subscriber base, with the number of paying customers increasing by 50% year-on-year in the six months ended 30 September 2024.

MultiChoice relaunched Showmax on 12 February 2024 in partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky. The relaunch included a rebrand, an upgrade to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform, and improved content offerings.

The content includes curated titles from studios like NBCUniversal, HBO, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount, Sony, Illumination, and DreamWorks. 

“It was a landmark year for Showmax, which grew its paying subscriber base, excluding discontinued services, by 50% year-on-year,” said MultiChoice.

In its results for the period, the broadcaster said it expects this 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.

MultiChoice also noted that it topped JustWatch’s streaming charts for South Africa in 2024. JustWatch is a streaming guide platform that shows what is available to stream on most platforms in the country.

According to JustWatch’s data, the top movies on Showmax were Oppenheimer and Civil War, while the best series were The Rookie and Yellowstone.

MultiChoice added that Showmax had more titles in the top ten charts than any other streaming platform.

“Entertainment is global in 2025, with customers wanting the very best from across the globe,” said MultiChoice.

“By the end of March 2025, Showmax will be streaming half of last year’s 10 biggest blockbusters globally.”

These include movies like Despicable Me 4, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4, Venom: The Last Dance, and Dune: Part Two.

These titles join other highly-rated movies and series, including Hacks Season 3, The Penguin, Wise Guys: David Chase & The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, Chernobyl, The Wire, The Sopranos, and Game of Thrones.

Live sports and local content are key

MultiChoice said its decision to double down on producing local content, of which it has produced 97 Showmax Originals, was successful.

“The investment paid off, with Showmax being home to the most winners at the National Film and TV Awards SA, The Behind the Scenes Awards, and the SAFTAs, as well as Koek, the most-awarded series at Silweskerm,” it said.

“Youngins had the most first-day views of any title since relaunch, with The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip — South Africa and Adulting setting the seven- and 10-day records, respectively.”

It noted that despite strong competition from international players, nine out of 10 of Showmax’s most-streamed titles since its relaunch has been local, with the only exception being HBO’s House of the Dragon.

Much of Showmax’s local content has been recognised internationally:

• Spinners won Best Foreign Series at the Shanghai TV Festival’s Magnolia Awards, beating Succession;
• Die Brug earned MultiChoice its third International Emmy Nomination in three years;
• Catch Me A Killer was the first South African series at Series Mania and won Best Production Design at the British Film Designers Guild Awards;
• Wyfie competed at the Rose d’Or and Seoul International Drama Awards;
• Original Sin: My Son the Killer was a finalist at the Venice TV Awards; and,
• Death in the Heartlands was shortlisted at the Broadcast Sports Awards

Showmax also offers a standalone Premier League plan for mobile users, which includes access to Betway Premiership content. It is one of the only streaming platforms in South Africa to offer live sports broadcasts.

Looking forward, MultiChoice plans to leverage Showmax’s content offering to realise further growth.

“Africa is a dynamic, challenging environment that remains an unrivalled growth opportunity, with the fastest-growing population globally and rising connectivity,” said MultiChoice South Africa CEO Byron du Plessis.

“Showmax is well-positioned to take advantage of these trends through its diverse mix of best-in-class local content, affordable mobile football products, and the best international content from leading international studios including NBCUniversal, HBO, Sky, Paramount and more.”