The streaming platform, which was developed by the South African pay-TV operator MultiChoice Group, has been unable to effectively compete with prominent streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon in the African market, consequently compelling Canal+ to terminate the venture.
Via a statement released on Thursday, the operator noted that the decision is a result of “substantial annual losses experienced by the Showmax business” that “proved unsustainable,” as seen on Bloomberg.
However, the termination of the service will not precipitate any redundancies, as the organization is offering its staff a range of transition alternatives.
Back in June 2024, it was reported that MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela intended to take on U.S. streaming behemoths such as Netflix, as it sought regulatory permission for its $3 billion deal with Canal+.
By 2025, Canal+ acquired South African MultiChoice in a deal valued at about $3 billion.
Unfortunately, this did very little to increase Showmax’s market share in Africa’s streaming service landscape.
Showmax’s performance in recent years
This was an entirely different story in 2023, when reports indicated that Netflix, the market leader in 2022 with more over 40% of the market, had lost its position to Showmax.
TechCabal reported that Showmax in 2023 accounted for 40% of the market compared to Netflix’s 35%, a 5% drop from the previous year.
By 2025, however, Showmax recorded a trading loss of $308 million, an 88% decline from the previous year.
This decline occurred despite a 44% year-on-year increase in paying subscribers, prompting Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada to state, “Showmax is not a commercial success. It’s quite obvious,” as seen on Weetracker.
Showmax’s struggles coincide with significant challenges currently faced by its parent company, Multichoice.
Over the past two years, MultiChoice has experienced a loss of 2.8 million linear TV subscribers, resulting in a decline of its active customer base to 14.5 million.
The group attributed its decreasing sales and profit to a “severely strained consumer environment,” foreign exchange volatility, intense competition from international streaming services, and extensive piracy.
Canal+’s recent moves in Africa
The potential launch centres on Canal+’s app, which already aggregates content from partners including AppleTV and Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max.
Chief Financial Officer Amandine Ferre said the appeal of the service is its simplicity, where “all of the content is embedded on the Canal+ app, and as a user, you do not have to go on another app.”
In the same month, Canal+ outlined significant cost-saving expectations from its $3 billion acquisition, sending its shares to record highs on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
Canal+ announced that it will delist MultiChoice from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) before pursuing a secondary inward listing of Canal+ by introduction, a strategic move designed to provide South African investors with direct access to shares in the expanded global pay-TV and streaming conglomerate.
