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MultiChoice Group announced its biggest move yet in the streaming space yesterday, revealing a joint-venture with Nasdaq-listed global entertainment giant Comcast to bolster its Showmax bouquet in Africa.
The agreement, according to a MultiChoice Sens statement, will see Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky offering included on Showmax to create the “leading streaming service in Africa”.
It will result in the formation of a “new partnership that will bring some of the world’s best content and technology to streaming customers across MultiChoice’s 50-market footprint in sub-Saharan Africa”.
MultiChoice, in which French broadcaster Canal+ has a more than 30 percent stake, said the streaming venture will be powered by Comcast’s Peacock globally-scaled technology.
“The new Showmax group will be 70 percent owned by MultiChoice and 30 percent by NBCUniversal. It will build on Showmax’s success to date and strive to create the leading streaming service in Africa,” it added.
The move comes in the wake of increasing competition from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in Africa, where MultiChoice has historically dominated the satellite TV game.
“The service will combine MultiChoice’s accelerating investment in local content with an extensive pipeline of international content licensed from NBCUniversal and Sky.
“This will be complemented by third party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony and others, as well as live English Premier League football,” said MultiChoice. —Moneyweb
Online Reporter