MultiChoice to inject an additional $89 million into Showmax by March

MultiChoice, a pan-African broadcaster, announced it will invest an additional $89 million into the streaming platform Showmax by March 31, 2024.

The company stated that the investment forms a part of a $129 million funding round by MultiChoice and NBCUniversal, which owns a 30% stake in Showmax. To date, the two parties have invested $20 million into the platform.

According to MultiChoice, equity funding is provided monthly or at other intervals, depending on Showmax’s working capital requirements and budget, up to a capped amount. The first tranche of the investment, totaling $30 million, is set to be made on February 2, 2024.

MultiChoice aims to position Showmax as Africa’s leading streaming service and plans to relaunch the platform later this month.

This relaunch includes partnerships to expand its content library and enhance its technology. Proposed offerings include an English Premier League-exclusive package, data-saving streaming bundles, and content from NBCUniversal’s subsidiaries, including SKY and HBO.

MultiChoice hopes these modifications will help toward achieving their goals of 50 million subscribers, $1 billion in revenue in five years, trading profit breakeven by 2027, a 25% EBITDA margin, and 20% free cash flow margins. The company also plans to triple its growth expectations of the platform by 2032 and increase content production tenfold by 2033.