John Ugbe, the CEO of MultiChoice, West Africa, on Monday disclosed that the new Showmax would prioritise ease of access for customers as a key business strategy on the back of its content offerings.
Ugbe disclosed this on Monday January 15, 2024, during the breakfast meeting with the media, stating that; “Nobody understands Africa like we do. Showmax is putting the continent first with a powerful streaming service that will revolutionise streaming in Africa in 2024”.
According to him, the new Showmax app will be available in app stores from 23 January 2024, as part of a staggered migration process across 44 markets. “This is an ongoing process that starts next week and will be completed in February this year,” he said.
Accordingly, existing Showmax customers will receive communication with information on how to access the new app within the week and by 12 February 2024 the new Showmax will be live in all markets.
According to him, Showmax’s content offering is further boosted by its focus on the African market and strengthened by the vast creative and commercial presence already established by MultiChoice.
Ugbe said that Showmax has delivered competitive new price points, with a growing network of payment options available to customers, as the first streaming service in Africa to make mobile downloads possible for offline viewing and the first to launch a mobile-only plan.
According to him, the payment ecosystem is facilitated by Moment, a MultiChoice joint venture partner. He disclosed that the platform currently works with over 200 payment partners.
“DStv customers will continue to have the option of adding Showmax to their DStv bill each month and benefitting from significant discounts. Showmax will be announcing additional partnerships soon that will offer even more value to customers”.
Opeoluwa Filani, GM, Showmax Nigeria, said that Showmax Premier League is a game-changing product that gives individuals a ticket to the football they love. “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, CEO, Premier League, said that over 20 percent of television (TV) audiences on any given Matchday come from Africa. According to him, Africa is incredibly important to the Premier League and the clubs.
“We are delighted with this Showmax initiative, which puts the Premier League in your pocket at a new price point so that millions more can enjoy our fantastic competition,” Masters said.
According to him, core to the success of Showmax’s streaming ambitions in Africa is a new technical platform that is robust and built to scale. “With the launch of Showmax, the Peacock streaming platform will be active in more than 70 countries and is continually enhanced by the combined expertise of thousands of engineers”.
