Africa’s leading entertainment provider, MultiChoice Group, US-based media company, Comcast, and NBCUniversal Peacock technology have partnered to relaunch Showmax as the pan-African video streaming service.
According to the organization, Showmax subscribers will have access to an extensive premium content portfolio, bringing African audiences to local and international programming. The service will combine MultiChoice’s accelerating investment in local content with a unique pipeline of award-winning and critically acclaimed international content licensed from NBCUniversal and Sky, third-party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony, and others, as well as live English Premier League (EPL) football.
The Showmax relaunch powered by Peacock technology will be 70% owned by Multichoice and 30% by NBCUniversal. The partnership will build on Showmax’s success to date and aim to create the leading streaming service in Africa.
The partnership will also provide access to African content such as Showmax Originals and local content from MultiChoice’s proprietary channels including Mzansi Magic, Africa Magic, and Maisha Magic.
NBCUniversal and Sky will provide ongoing support through the licensing of both technology and content using a significant portfolio of global media assets and Peacock’s streaming platform, which finished in 2022 with over 20 million paid subscribers in the US.
Speaking on the partnership, Calvo Mawela, chief executive officer of MultiChoice said, “We launched Showmax as the first African streaming service in 2015 and are extremely proud of its success to date. This agreement represents a great opportunity for our Showmax team to scale even greater heights by working with a leading global player in Comcast and its subsidiaries.”
“The new business venture deepens an already strong relationship and builds on the Sky Glass technology partnership that we announced in September last year. We believe we are extremely well positioned to create a winning platform going forward.”
Dana Strong, Group Chief Executive Officer, Sky, commented, “This new collaboration in streaming and content with MultiChoice, NBCUniversal, and Sky takes our partnership to the next level in one of the world’s most vibrant, fastest growing markets. Last year, we announced MultiChoice as a customer of the Sky Glass platform and now we are excited to help innovate its Showmax streaming service.”
Matt Strauss, Chairman, of direct-to-consumer and International, NBCUniversal, added, “This partnership is an incredible opportunity to further scale the global presence of Peacock’s world-class streaming technology, as well as to introduce millions of new customers to extensive premium content from NBCUniversal and Sky’s stellar entertainment brands.”