Showmax has begun communicating specific shutdown dates to subscribers across Africa, telling them that the streaming service will stop accepting new subscriptions and renewals from the end of March and will shut down entirely a month later, on 30 April 2026.
The communications have so far been sent to subscribers outside South Africa, according to information seen by TechCentral. South African subscribers have not yet received the notification, but they, too, will be affected by the same shutdown timeline, a source familiar with the matter said.
The timeline means Showmax is now in its final weeks of operation, bringing to a close one of Africa’s most expensive and ambitious streaming experiments.
Showmax told subscribers that existing users will be able to continue watching content until their current subscription expires or until the end of April 2026, whichever comes first. The company said it would share details on how subscribers can continue accessing Showmax Originals and other content on DStv Stream.
The shutdown dates are the first concrete consumer-facing timeline since MultiChoice Group announced on 5 March that it would discontinue the platform. That announcement, which followed a comprehensive review of the company’s streaming activities under parent company Canal+, cited the “substantial annual losses” at Showmax as unsustainable.
Widely expected
The decision had been widely expected. Just two weeks before the shutdown was confirmed, Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot told TechCentral in a wide-ranging interview that Showmax “can’t continue” in its current form. “Financially speaking, business-wise speaking, the thing is not flying,” Mignot said.
Groupe Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada was equally blunt, telling investment analysts in January that Showmax was “not a commercial success — it’s quite obvious”.
The financial toll was staggering. As TechCentral reported, Showmax recorded trading losses of R2.6-billion for the year ended 31 March 2024. Those losses ballooned by 88% to R4.9-billion in the year ended 31 March 2025, dragging MultiChoice Group’s trading profit down by 49%. Subscriber growth and revenues were, by MultiChoice’s own admission, “well short” of the 2025 targets.
Read: Commission to probe Showmax closure
MultiChoice originally launched Showmax in August 2015 as Africa’s first major subscription video-on-demand platform. In March 2023, it partnered with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky to overhaul the platform, with NBCUniversal acquiring a 30% stake and bringing Peacock streaming technology and a pipeline of international content. The relaunched Showmax 2.0 went live in February 2024 across 44 African markets. It never came close to meeting its growth targets.
The shutdown has prompted concern across the African content production industry, with filmmakers and producers raising questions about the loss of a major commissioner of local original programming. Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications & digital technologies has scheduled an oversight visit to the broadcasting sector for 31 March and 1 April to examine the implications of the closure.
For subscribers, the immediate question is what content will survive the transition to DStv Stream and the Canal+ app — particularly the international programming from HBO, Warner Bros, Paramount and Peacock that was available through Showmax’s content-sharing arrangements with NBCUniversal.
Read: MultiChoice pulls the plug on Showmax
“This move brings together Showmax Originals, on‑demand entertainment and live television in a single platform designed around how audiences want to watch and enjoy their content today,” said Willington Ngwepe, CEO of MultiChoice SA, the broadcasting services licensee in South Africa. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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