Andrea Zappia, a former chief executive officer of Sky’s new markets and businesses, has been appointed as the Chairman of Showmax, the streaming platform owned by Multichoice Group. This strategic move follows Multichoice’s recent collaboration with Comcast, aiming to compete with major players like Netflix Inc. and substantially increase revenue across the African continent. Zappia assumed the role of chairman this month, having joined the Multichoice board in September.
Showmax, already operating in 50 African countries, relaunched its service on Monday with the support and technology provided by Comcast. Multichoice CEO, Calvo Mawela, shared plans with investors, expressing the streaming service’s goal to generate $1 billion in revenue within the next five years.
The partnership between Multichoice, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and Sky, established in March, seeks to expand audiences in Africa, home to the world’s fastest-growing population. Currently, Multichoice holds a 70% stake in Showmax, while Comcast holds the remaining share, with the option to increase its ownership, as confirmed by Mawela.
The collaboration aims to tap into growing interests, particularly among young and tech-savvy Africans, in categories such as football and local shows. The revamped Showmax will operate on the Peacock streaming platform and feature the English Premier League as part of its content offering.
“The benefit of the partnership between Comcast and Multichoice is to take international experience and combine that with our African experience – and that makes us very competitive on the continent. The plan is to significantly scale the business,” said Showmax CEO, Marc Jury, in an interview.
Multichoice’s strategic move to leverage Showmax for increased revenue comes in the wake of recent financial challenges. The company reported a net loss of 1.32 billion rand ($72.4 million) for the six months ending September 30, 2023. Factors contributing to these losses include foreign exchange difficulties in Nigeria and persistent power outages in South Africa, where rolling blackouts led to a 5% decline in active days per subscriber. The challenges in Nigeria stemmed from the mid-June decision to allow the Naira to trade more freely against the dollar, resulting in a 40% devaluation and subsequent foreign exchange losses for Multichoice.