They Fell, Too. Now Only Korea Remains.

Canal+ Shuts Down Showmax: The Last Warning for Korea's K-AI EnterTech Moment

$309 million. 11 years. 44 countries. Why it failed — and what Korea must learn.

Another challenger has fallen in the global streaming wars. Showmax, which launched a direct assault on Netflix across 44 African countries, has finally surrendered. MultiChoice and NBCUniversal poured a combined $309 million into the platform — yet trading losses worsened 88% and revenue actually declined. The global streaming giants survived. Showmax did not.

Of the handful of local streaming platforms that once dared to compete independently against Netflix and its rivals, Korea now stands nearly alone. But the question is: for how long?

그들도 무너졌다. 이제 한국만 남았다...아프리카 쇼맥스의 실패 그리고 교훈
아프리카 쇼맥스 폐쇄와 카날플러스의 전략 선회...3억 달러 투자에도 로컬 스트리밍 임계 규모와 수익성을 확보하지 못해. 소맥스 실패가 한국에 주는 메시지
K-EnterTech HubJung Han
Korea Version

■  Showmax at a Glance — Sources: Variety, TechCentral, Weetracker

▪  Total investment   $309M  (MultiChoice + NBCUniversal combined equity funding)

▪  Service period & territory   August 2015 – 2026  /  44 African countries  (11 years of operation)

▪  Final subscriber count   ~3.9 million (2025)  (vs. Netflix Africa ~9 million)

▪  FY2025 trading loss   ZAR 4.9 billion (~$308 million)  (88% worse YoY from ZAR 2.6B — MultiChoice official filing)

▪  Subscriber paradox   +44% YoY subscriber growth — yet revenue fell  (Content & platform cost surge wiped out gains)

▪  Target vs. reality   Target: $1B revenue & 16M subscribers (within 5 years)  (Actual: less than 30% of target at shutdown)

▪  NBCUniversal stake   30% joint venture  (Under Comcast)

▪  Canal+ savings target   $479M/year (group-wide)  (Showmax cuts directly contributed — Canal+ CEO statement)


1.  The Story: 11 Years, a $309M Relaunch, and a Quiet Shutdown

Showmax launched in South Africa in August 2015. As Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ moved into African markets and began eroding MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV subscriber base, MultiChoice responded by building its own streaming challenger.

In February 2024, MultiChoice raised the stakes dramatically. It partnered with NBCUniversal (a Comcast company) and Sky to fully relaunch the platform as Showmax 2.0 — rebuilt on Peacock's streaming technology. The relaunched service positioned three offerings as its competitive edge: African local originals, Hollywood titles, and English Premier League mobile streaming rights. Then-executive Yolisa Phahle publicly set an audacious target: $1 billion in annual revenue and 16 million subscribers within five years.