Global Courant
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The MultiChoice Group will launch a significantly revised and improved version of its streaming platform, Showmax, before the end of the year.
The CEO, Calvo Mawela, revealed that the “version 2” of Showmax will include strategic and technical input from new partner and co-investor NBCUniversal. The company had announced in March that NBCUniversal would acquire a 30% stake in Showmax as part of a plan to build the leading Internet video streaming platform in Africa.
The new version will be launched in the fourth quarter with a larger and broader lineup of content. The agreement includes NBCUniversal sister company Sky and includes the delivery of technology and new content to Showmax subscribers. MultiChoice has retained a 70% stake in the company.
In March, Multichoice said, “Powered by Peacock’s leading globally scalable technology, Showmax subscribers will have access to an extensive premium content portfolio, bringing African audiences the best of local and international programming.” Peacock is an NBCUniversal streaming platform.
They added by saying the service will combine MultiChoice’s accelerated investment in local content with a pipeline of award-winning and critically acclaimed international content licensed from NBCUniversal and Sky, third-party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony and others. as live English Premier League football.
Mawela revealed that the deal with NBCUniversal means Showmax has a secure pipeline of international content over a long period of time. “Showmax version 2 will be launched in the fourth quarter with a wider range of content, better product offerings, better user interface and more live sports streams, and will be supported by the English Premier League,” he added.
The company remains a separate offering apart from DStv and “appealing to a streaming population that continues to grow” and who “might want sports as part of that offering.” In the meantime, a television hardware solution being developed in partnership with Sky called DStv Glass will be launched in South Africa within the next 18 months, Mawela said.
DStv Glass offers a flat-screen TV and integrated soundbar, along with a slick new user interface. It was already expected to be on sale this year, but there were delays in further adapting the offering to the needs of the local public.
