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Showmax revamps content, launches mobile app

Samuel Mungadze
By Samuel Mungadze, Africa editor
Johannesburg, 22 Nov 2019

Showmax, a streaming service of pay-TV company MultiChoice, has announced it is rolling out a revamped version of the video-on-demand platform, Showmax, including a mobile app, with new and better features and technology.

The company also announced new shows and live sport to go with the platform’s fresh look.

The company says Showmax’s new mobile plan costs 50% of the standard Showmax package, but still features 100% of the same video content.

“What sets Showmax apart is a unique combination of four pillars: hit African content, first and exclusive international series, the best kids’ shows, and live sport, including weekly matches from the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, and Spain’s La Liga,” it said in a statement.

According to Showmax, the new plan is specifically aimed at consumers who only use smartphones and tablets to watch video content. Further, it says video resolution peaks at standard definition to help reduce data consumption, “and as a product for the individual, one concurrent stream is included in the plan”.

Showmax is offering the normal two weeks’ free trial period with the option to cancel at any time.

Speaking about the launch of the new mobile plan for Africa, Niclas Ekdahl, CEO of the Connected Video division of MultiChoice, said: “This is all about an African service developing a solution that meets the needs of African consumers. Customer feedback consistently points to local content and sport as some of the things that people value most from Showmax. That, of course, is on top of the international series, movies and kids’ shows that are our bread and butter. With all of that content now available in a product designed specifically for mobile usage, we’re doing something no other service can offer.

“On top of that, with groundbreaking deals like our new offer with Vodacom in South Africa, we solve the credit card issue through add-to-bill payment and the data issue by including data directly in the package. We’re looking to launch similar offers in Kenya and Nigeria soon.”

The TV streaming war has intensified in SA in recent months.

Apple TV+ entered the fray last month, offering services at R75 a month, while both Netflix and Showmax charge R99 per month for their service.

According to Digital TV Research’s sub-Saharan Africa over-the-top (OTT) TV and video forecasts (January 2019), SA is the biggest video OTT market on the continent, and accounts for 40% of the sub-Saharan Africa market.

The research predicts OTT video revenue in SA will experience a compound annual growth rate of 28% between 2018 and 2024 – up from $116 million in 2018, to $408 million in 2024.

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