Canal+ pulls the plug on loss-making Showmax - what next for DStv subscribers?

MultiChoice has confirmed that it is discontinuing the Showmax streaming service in South Africa.

The entertainment group assured subscribers that there would be no immediate interruption, with Showmax saying in a statement that its subscribers "are a priority for us, and we are working on plans to ensure clear communication and a smooth transition when the time comes."

This is what MultiChoice owner Canal+ said in its own statement on Thursday:

"This decision was made by the Showmax Board of Directors and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice, a CANAL+ Company, on financial discipline and investment optimisation, in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment."

It said further details regarding their expanded content offering and platform upgrades would be shared "in due course".

As independent TV critic and journalist Thinus Ferreira affirms, the move is part of cost cutting measures by Paris-based Canal+, which bought 48% of Multichoice in 2025, and "overpaid".

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He also predicts that the move is a harbinger of what else might still be to come during the course of the year as the French media giant continues its "aggressive" drive to bring down costs.

While the streaming landscape is becoming more and more competitive, Grootes wonders what it is particularly about the Showmax model that didn't work.

Ferreira likens it to a pastiche or almost a copy and paste of a Netflix service.

"MultiChoice decided they need to start and push out a streaming service, maybe a bit haphazardly, faltering in the execution and then throwing more money after bad. And now we're in a situation where another company bought this company and then decided 'no further, let's cut the losses and end the streaming future of Showmax'."

What people might not realise is that Canal+ signed a new partnership with Netflix in Francophone Africa last year to bundle the popular streaming service into their offering, Ferreira says.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we hear later in the year that they're just extending that existing partnership with Netflix into the rest of Africa and then we get Netflix bundled... instead of Canal of doing the groundwork of trying their own app, they just aggregate and execute on what MultiChoice always wanted to do by bundling traditional streaming services like your Apple and Disney and Netflix and giving that to DStv subscribers under one price."

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