Showmax, Multichoice's streaming platform, will broadcast NBC-Universal and Sky content under an agreement signed with COMCAST, in addition to the South African group's content already available on Showmax.
Showmax will be 70% owned by MultiChoice, with NBCUniversal owning the remaining 30%.
This partnership will significantly enrich the content of the platform, which is available in around 50 markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
In English-speaking Africa, competition in the streaming sector has intensified in recent years: Netflix has stepped up its production initiatives in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and West Africa.
Amazon Prime Video has signed agreements with major Nigerian producers, and Disney+ has officially announced the launch of its platform in South Africa in May 2022.
This new partnership should enable Showmax, Africa's leading streaming service launched in 2015, to improve its competitiveness against these competitors.
In terms of content, Showmax benefits from the MultiChoice catalog, which will be supplemented by content from NBC-Universal and Sky, as well as content from American studios that do not have their own platforms, such as HBO, WarnerBros, and Sony.
The platform will use Comcast technology for its Peacock platform and aims to become the leading streaming service in Africa.
As a reminder, the CANAL+ group now owns more than 30% of MultiChoice and has MyCANAL, its streaming platform for CANAL+ group content, in French-speaking Africa.