Showmax 2.0 to the rescue?
All hope pinned on Showmax
Multichoice hopes to increase Showmax's subscriber base to 50 million subscribers, as consumers turn to streaming services.
MyBroadBand MultiChoice is going all-in on a re-launched Showmax streaming service arriving in February 2024, with which it hopes to double its overall customer base in the next five years to reach 50 million subscribers.
It took the company 17 years to hit 21 million subscribers, excluding Showmax customers.
Showmax’s external revenue increased by 46% in Multichoice’s last interim results, climbing from N$381 million to N$555 million.
However, its trading losses increased by over half a billion rand — from N$279 million to N$799 million.
Showmax is still highly unprofitable, with a net loss of N$1.41 billion between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023.
According to an analysis by Daily Investor, it would be a very tough ask to increase Showmax’s subscriber base from an estimated 1 million subscribers to 25 million in the next five years.
Previously, Showmax only grew its subscribers by around 125,000 per year. To meet its new goal, it would have to see subscriber growth surging by over 3 700%.
As any of the major video streaming services would tell MultiChoice, making this type of business profitable is difficult.
While Netflix’s early head start gave it an advantage, major streaming services like Disney+ and Max (formerly HBO Max) from Warner Bros. Discovery struggle to make money.
Across all its operations, DStv parent MultiChoice saw its profit plummet 22% from N$6.2 billion to N$4.8 billion.