Showmax gives South Africans an offramp as shutdown looms

Showmax has offered subscribers a month-long free trial for DStv Compact Stream as the streaming service prepares to shut down at the end of this month.

Current Showmax customers will also be able to subscribe to DStv Compact Stream at a discounted rate of R99 per month for the next 12 months after their free trial.

Starting today, South Africans will no longer be able to renew their subscription or get a new subscription to Showmax, with the platform slated to be shut down at the end of April 2026.

Notably, current subscribers can still use the Showmax platform until the end of April.

In the meantime, Showmax-owner MultiChoice is looking to migrate existing customers to the DStv Stream, with many of the streaming platform’s original content already available there.

“Showmies, a new home is already waiting for us on DStv Compact Stream. Just download the DStv Stream App, and you can try it out on us from now until the end of May 2026,” DStv told customers via an email on Wednesday, 1 April. 

“Like what you see? After the trial, you’ll get up to 12 months at the exclusive price of R99 per month. You can watch it all on your phone or Smart TV – no dish or decoder installation needed.”

The email encouraged customers to download the DStv Stream app, saying that, like the Showmax app, it will allow them to watch shows, movies, and sports on their mobile devices, smart TVs, and other smart devices.

In mid-March 2026, Showmax officially confirmed that current subscribers can keep using the platform until their subscriptions end or until the end of April 2026.

Tuesday, 31 March 2026, was the last day for customers to renew their Showmax subscriptions or redeem vouchers.

Showmax on the way out

These changes come after MultiChoice’s new owner, French media giant CANAL+, announced at the start of March that the Showmax business’s substantial annual losses have proved unsustainable.

MultiChoice said that, due to these losses, the streaming platform would be shut down, adding that the decision was made by the Showmax Board of Directors.

“The decision to phase out Showmax reflects our focus on building a sustainable, competitive business for the long term in an increasingly demanding global streaming environment,” the company said.

It explained that this evolution is also consistent with MultiChoice’s ambition to deploy its in-house large-scale streaming platform capable of meeting the expectations of African and international consumers.

“CANAL+ will continue to invest in premium content for MultiChoice subscribers, technological innovation and strategic partnerships to consolidate its leadership in the African entertainment market,” the company said.

CANAL+ previously described Showmax as an “expensive failure”, saying it was one of several factors that negatively impacted MultiChoice’s profitability.

This was despite the fact that MultiChoice invested heavily in the platform over the past few years, and even launched a 2.0 version of Showmax in 2024.

The company pinned many of its hopes for a turnaround on Showmax’s success, with plans to grow the platform’s subscribers and revenue by 1,800% by 2028.

The company planned to generate $1 billion (R16.78 billion) in revenue and reach 50 million users by 2028 through its Showmax 2.0 service.

To generate this revenue, it would have required 16 million active subscribers paying an average of R99 per month.

This was a tall ask, as in 2024, MultiChoice reported that Showmax’s revenue grew by 22% to R1.0 billion, while trading losses increased to R2.6 billion.