{"id":524978,"date":"2024-02-15T13:28:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=524978"},"modified":"2024-02-15T13:37:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:37:56","slug":"goodbye-showmax-1-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadcasting\/524978-goodbye-showmax-1-0.html","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye Showmax 1.0"},"content":{"rendered":"

MultiChoice successfully migrated nearly all its customers from the original Showmax platform to a new and improved streaming service by the same name running on technology from NBCUniversal’s Peacock.<\/p>\n

Nearly a decade after its launch, the first Showmax app was shut down on 8 February 2024.<\/p>\n

However, numerous Showmax users were frustrated by MultiChoice’s transition process for the new app.<\/p>\n

The company officially launched the new Showmax app on 12 February 2024 but started a gradual rollout on 23 January 2024.<\/p>\n

As part of this process, it sent out emails to Showmax customers in a staggered approach, informing them how to access the new app and later launched a Showmax Preview website to allow new subscribers to sign up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To make the migration process as smooth as possible, the broadcaster told the media that the two Showmax platforms would be running in parallel leading up to the final Showmax 2.0 launch.<\/p>\n

However, during the staggered rollout, many Showmax users flooded to Twitter\/X and said the original app had become unuseable, forcing them to download the new app.<\/p>\n

Some also discovered that their primary viewing devices were no longer supported by the new app.<\/p>\n

Showmax South Africa’s support profile on X acknowledged many of the complaints.<\/p>\n

“There were a few hick-ups with the migration, however, you should be able to enjoy the <\/span>#NewShowmax<\/span> now across all your supported devices,” one post stated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“We understand glitches are affecting your experience, and we’re actively working to make things smoother,” another said.<\/p>\n

“We’re ironing out some glitches to make things smoother for you,” a third reply stated.<\/p>\n

Almost 100% of users migrated<\/h2>\n

MultiChoice South Africa CEO Marc Jury said the switch to Showmax 2.0 was not just an upgrade but a move to an entirely new and improved app.<\/p>\n

“For a complex migration at a massive scale, the migration has run incredibly well with close to 100% of users successfully moved to the new platform, well above industry standards,” Jury said.<\/p>\n

“The new Showmax offers up to HD quality and 5.1 surround sound, more local and international hits than ever, and every single Premier League match, among other improvements. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jury said that MultiChoice greatly appreciated customers’ patience and understanding during the migration across to the new platform.<\/p>\n

“We understand the migration has been frustrating for some customers, and we want to say a huge thank you to all our fans who have stuck with us through the process,” Jury said.<\/p>\n

“We are passionate about giving our Showmax customers the very best streaming experience and service on the continent and can’t wait for customers to see what’s coming up in the months ahead.”<\/p>\n

\"\"

Marc Jury, MultiChoice SA CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

Showmax also explained why many users could not use the old Showmax app during the migration.<\/p>\n

Although both apps were running concurrently, once existing customer details had been migrated onto the new Showmax, the old app was no longer accessible to them.<\/p>\n

From 23 January, new customers were also only able to sign up to the new Showmax, which meant creating a new account would not solve the issue.<\/p>\n

Regarding device support, the new Showmax<\/span> cannot run on some older devices due to the need to support newer technologies.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s not possible to support all devices, and we’ve prioritised the most important ones that can support our technology and include the majority of devices in use in our markets,” the company said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

“<\/span><\/u><\/u>The most common devices that no longer run Showmax<\/span> are the DStv Explora 3B, Hisense 2019 and older smart TV models, and some older LG and Samsung TVs,” MultiChoice said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The broadcaster stated that many of these devices were already no longer officially supported by the old Showmax.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While they might have been able to stream, the experience could break at any time as no new updates were being delivered to those devices.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The broadcaster also said customers who could no longer access Showmax on any of their devices could reach out to customer care for a refund on this month’s subscription<\/p>\n

The table below summarises the different devices supported on the old and new Showmax.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Showmax supported devices \u2014 Old vs new<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Device type<\/strong><\/td>\nOld Showmax<\/strong><\/td>\nNew Showmax<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smartphone or tablet<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Android 7.0 or above<\/li>\n
  • iOS 14.0 or above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • Android 7.0 or above<\/li>\n
  • Huawei with HMS\/App Gallery<\/li>\n
  • iOS 14 or above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smart TVs<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Android TV-powered Smart TVs<\/li>\n
  • Samsung Smart TVs from 2012 and later<\/li>\n
  • LG Smart TVs from 2012 and later<\/li>\n
  • Selected Hisense Smart TVs in Africa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • Android TV-powered devices running Android OS 5.1 or later<\/li>\n
  • LG Smart TVs from 2016 and later<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Samsung Smart TVs from 2016 and later<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Hisense Smart TVs from 2020 and later<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TV streaming boxes and sticks<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Android TV boxes and sticks with Android 7.0 or later<\/li>\n
  • Apple TV HD (4th Generation or above) with tvOS 15 or above<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • Android TV boxes and sticks with Android 5.1 or later<\/li>\n
  • Apple TV HD (4th Generation or above) with tvOS 16 or above<\/li>\n
  • Chromecast 1st Generation or above, including Chromecast with Google TV<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DStv devices<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • All DStv Explora models<\/li>\n
  • DStv Streama<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • DStv Explora Ultra<\/li>\n
  • DStv Streama<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gaming consoles<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • PlayStation 4<\/li>\n
  • Xbox One<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • PlayStation 4<\/li>\n
  • Xbox One<\/li>\n
  • Xbox Series X|S<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Web browsers<\/td>\n\n
    \n
  • Chrome (Linux\/Mac\/Windows)<\/li>\n
  • Edge (Mac\/Windows)<\/li>\n
  • Firefox (Mac\/Windows)<\/li>\n
  • Safari (Mac)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
    \n
  • Chrome 102+ (Windows\/Mac)<\/li>\n
  • Edge 102+ (Windows\/Mac)<\/li>\n
  • Firefox 102+ (Windows\/Mac)<\/li>\n
  • Safari 14+ (Mac)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    The broadcaster also acknowledged that the purging of old recommendations and watchlist was frustrating.<\/p>\n

    “We assure customers that the new interface will make it easy to rebuild playlists with the shows they love and to discover even more content,” MultiChoice said.<\/p>\n

    MultiChoice said that although the migration process had been completed, it noticed that some customers were still experiencing challenges accessing the new platform.<\/p>\n

    It encouraged those customers to contact its customer care teams through its online Help Centre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    After nearly a decade, the original Showmax app has been shut down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":496199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[1343,35,85277,475,47934,68556,32140,62312],"class_list":["post-524978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","tag-comcast","tag-headline","tag-marc-jury","tag-multichoice","tag-nbcuniversal","tag-peacock","tag-showmax","tag-video-streaming-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524978"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}