After successfully claiming the mantle of Africa’s streaming market leader from the U.S. giant, Netflix, in 2023, South Africa’s Showmax is set to leverage smartphones to reach an even broader audience of football enthusiasts.
The MultiChoice-owned streaming platform has unveiled mobile-only subscriptions for Premier League content, forming a crucial component of its upcoming second iteration, Showmax 2.0, slated for launch in mid-February.
“Showmax Premier League is a game-changing product that gives individuals a ticket to the football they love, wherever they are on the device they always have with them, at a price that’s impossible not to love,” stated Marc Jury, CEO of Showmax.
Mobile subscribers can access the world’s first standalone Premier League plan for mobile at a cost of US$3.69 (R69) per month, a pricing strategy that is approximately 10 times more economical than monthly DSTV subscriptions offering Premier League plans.
The Premier League plan encompasses all 380 live games from SuperSport, coupled with fan content, talk shows, interviews, and more, exclusively available on mobile devices, as outlined on Showmax’s new website.
Marc Jury emphasized the vast potential of this offering, stating, “There are currently just over 450 million smartphones in the hands of individuals across Africa … and more than 250 million avid football lovers on the continent.”
Richard Masters, Chief Executive Officer of the Premier League, also emphasized Africa’s significance to the league and its clubs, with around 20% of television audiences on any given match day hailing from Africa.
Subscribers can also opt to bundle the Premier League plan with Showmax’s Entertainment package, encompassing hit international and trending local series, movies, kids’ shows, and more, exclusively on mobile.
In addition to the Premier League rollout, Showmax’s new offering will introduce 21 new Showmax Originals, contributing to a substantial 150% increase in production output compared to 2023, reaching over 1,300 hours of original content by the close of 2024.
Showmax has scheduled a migration plan to its new app and website for existing customers from January 23 to mid-February 2024. The platform’s revamped architecture is built on NBC Universal’s Peacock streaming platform, a result of the partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky, forged in 2023.
Having accounted for 40% of Africa’s streaming market in November 2023, according to Omdia Research, Showmax continues to lead in a highly competitive landscape, with Netflix closely trailing at 35% market share.
As predicted by Digital TV research, the streaming video-on-demand sector in Africa is anticipated to witness intense competition between Netflix and Showmax, collectively attracting 10 million new subscribers on the continent by the end of 2030, and reaching a projected total of 18 million streaming video-on-demand subscribers.