ABOUT eight years after entering the streaming market in South Africa, Showmax is gearing up for its biggest year when it relaunches next month.
Launched in 2015 and available in more than 40 African markets, the African streaming service will be relaunching with a brand-new look, new application and a new product suite.
Showmax is an African streaming service that offers a unique combination of hit African content and exclusive international series, popular movies, premium documentaries, kids’ shows and the Premier League.
It is jointly owned by MultiChoice, the producer of content in Africa, and Comcast, one of the world’s biggest media companies.
The relaunch of Showmax comes after the announcement of a partnership between Showmax and international media heavyweight Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky earlier last year.
The new Showmax will have three plans namely Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile and Showmax Premier League.
“We have all the ingredients in place to become the number one streaming service for Africa. The video streaming service has demonstrated exceptional creativity, originality and innovation within the on-demand streaming industry,” Showmax chief executive officer Marc Jury said in a statement.
Jury said streaming in Africa was about to take off and it was promising to be a game changer.
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“Powered by SuperSport and made for mobile phone users, Showmax Premier League is the first standalone Premier League mobile streaming service ever to launch in Africa and will take every match of the world’s most popular football league to every corner of sub-Saharan Africa,” he noted.
As it prepares for relaunch, Showmax has already released a refreshed logo and brand identity.
“We have an incredibly powerful new technology platform, a bold brand that truly represents our driving spirit, and a content slate that is unmatched. No other streaming service in Africa can offer what Showmax is bringing to the table in the new year,” Jury said.
“Showmax’s migration onto the global Peacock streaming platform means it’s ready to scale, and scale fast. The robust platform is used across the globe and is a leader in sports streaming, having successfully live-streamed the Super Bowl to more than six million users simultaneously.”
Showmax ramped up its content slate across the continent last month in preparation for the relaunch.
“The diverse lineup includes the first 2D animation, Twende, about an adorable boda-boda driving pangolin, as well as second seasons of record-breaking bromance Adulting, smash hit reality series Kwa Mam’Mkhize and Nigerian hit Wura, not to mention the reunion of The Mommy Club,” Jury said.
“The launches on the way, Convict Conman, a new true-crime series (from the producers of Devilsdorp, Rosemary’s Hitlist and Steinheist), Trompoppies, a murder mystery series set in the competitive world of high school drum majorettes, Nigerian legal drama Agu and reality series Sports Wives.”
For fans of international content, Jury said the new Comcast partnership guaranteed Showmax an ongoing supply of hit content, as the media giant owns the likes of Universal Pictures, NBC, Peacock, Sky, DreamWorks Animation and Telemundo.
“Viewers can expect international titles on Showmax to radically increase in the new year, with last month’s (December) lineup already including The Super Mario Bros. Movie (the biggest animated opening of all-time, and the biggest global opening of 2023), Fast X (which was the number one international opening of 2023), Emmy-nominated Poker Face and King Arthur epic The Winter King,” Jury said.
“Already home to the three most nominated shows at this year’s Emmys, Showmax will continue to draw content from Banijay, BBC, eOne Fremantle, HBO, ITV, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros, among others. “Showmax has continued to grow from strength to strength.
It was recently named one of the RoW40 (40 Trailblazing Companies that are beating the West) by the New York-based global non-profit Rest of World which said, “These emerging market pioneers are outmanoeuvring Silicon Valley.”
Nigeria’s 2023 BrandCom Awards also recognised Showmax as “the most innovative on-demand video streaming platform”.
