The head of MultiChoice’s online streaming business says the group is one step closer to creating an all-in-one video on-demand platform that brings content from various entertainment providers and studios under one roof.
The group has been doubling down on its online streaming efforts, signing many deals in the past two years in a bid to set up Africa’s largest paid TV operator as the biggest gatekeeper to paying audiences who stream content.
A new, updated version of Showmax, underpinned by technology from US giant NBC Universal, is expected in February.
Agreements with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Disney, NBC Universal, Canal+ and Sky are likely to bring all streaming content under one roof so consumers don’t have to pay multiple subscriptions.
When asked how far the company is from making this a reality, Marc Jury, CEO of MultiChoice SA and current head of Showmax, told Business Day: “Not far”.
“From a general entertainment point of view, you’d be hard-pressed to find something that is going to surpass Showmax in terms of its mixture of the best in international and local [content].”
In some ways MultiChoice has been aggregating video on-demand content for a number of years. Showmax has had a section where customers could choose to watch specific content from the likes of BBC, Nickelodeon, ABC Studios and HBO. Netflix had previously held such a position before the major studios decided they wanted a bigger piece of the streaming, subsequently launching platforms of their own.
This has led to a crowded market in which consumers have to have many subscriptions, including the costs of broadband, to meet their needs.
Jury, who until 2023 ran SuperSport, said certain types of programming, such as news are no longer an attraction for paying customers, particularly millennials.
Big draw
“I suppose the thing that you don’t have there is news but no millennials watch the news any more. Much of that is freely available on a multitude of platforms. News as a vertical has lost some of its meaning in terms of getting people to pay for subscription TV.”
Sport continues to be a big draw for the group’s traditional broadcast, and now streaming products.
“The difference is ultimately going to come down to, what we do with sport, long term?” said Jury. “Do we put all sports on Showmax or not? And if all sport was on Showmax, then [it might] be carved up in a slightly more creative way and packaged around themes, then perhaps it talks to that thesis,” Jury said.
Last week, Showmax said it will offer the continent’s first stand-alone Premier League football mobile streaming plan. This is part of a new set of packages that will be available to customers, including Showmax Entertainment and Showmax Entertainment Mobile.
The group is using sport in a number of ways to attract a new audience and retain existing customers.
Earlier this month, the company entered SA’s crowded sports betting market with the launch of SuperSportBet, now competing with the likes of Betway, Hollywoodbets, PlayaBets and Easybet.
The group is using its tie in with SuperSport, Africa’s largest sports broadcaster, to stand out.
“For now, we want to scale up this business [Showmax], [and] offer incredible content at a price point that is unbeatable across the continent, and really grow a community of video entertainment lovers across the continent,” said Jury.
Right ingredients
Though details on pricing and launch dates are still unknown, prices are expected to rise in line with inflation, competitor rates, a bigger content library, local content production and the group’s investment in the platform, among many factors. Showmax’s standard package has remained unchanged at R99 since the platform first launched in 2015.
“We’ve pegged so much on this Showmax rebrand and relaunch. We feel that we have the right ingredients to get off to a good start in terms of seeing the growth of the platform and the demand coming from customers across the continent,” Jury said.
As MultiChoice has been operating three streaming services — DStv Now, Showmax and Showmax Pro — it has live and on-demand streaming options for customers.
The new Showmax platform will be launching with a new look, a new app, and “entirely new product suite”, the company says.
The group invested substantially in Showmax, which competes with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. It invested R500m more than in the previous financial year, due mainly to dual platform costs that it says will normalise once customers have migrated.
A new Showmax group was created that is 70% owned by MultiChoice and 30% by Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, and powered by its Peacock technology.
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