When Canal+ said that the streaming platform Showmax was “not a commercial success,” it seemed like a straightforward business statement. However, the shutdown of Showmax, owned by MultiChoice and later integrated into Canal+’s strategy—reveals a bigger issue about digital media in Africa.
The main point is not just that Showmax failed. It highlights a key fact: the business conditions that make subscription streaming work in developed countries do not apply easily to Africa.
In the last ten years, global streaming companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney have changed how people ‘consume’ entertainment. Their success relies on having many subscribers, strong internet connections, and high revenue from each user. But Africa faces different challenges, such as gaps in internet access, sensitivity to prices, and issues with payment.
These challenges explain why even well-funded regional platforms like Showmax have had a tough time making streaming profitable.
The High Cost of Competing in Streaming
Streaming is an expensive business anywhere in the world. Platforms must continually invest in technology, licensing deals, and original content to attract and retain subscribers.
For MultiChoice, Showmax became a major financial burden during its expansion phase. The company poured billions of rand into the platform to upgrade technology, secure global content partnerships, and produce local originals. Yet the financial returns never matched the scale of investment.
Showmax’s trading losses widened dramatically during this period. According to company disclosures, losses climbed to R4.95 billion (about $265 million) in one financial year alone as the platform scaled operations and content spending.
Even though more people subscribed, revenue didn’t grow as much as expected. I downloaded and uninstall the app four times because it was hard to pay for the subscription. Showmax revenue, which peaked at roughly $60 million in 2024, was far from the $1 billion revenue target executives once envisioned.
In the end, the gap between spending and earnings proved unsustainable. But the financial losses were not simply the result of poor strategy. They reflected deeper structural barriers in Africa’s digital economy.
Connectivity Still Limits Streaming
One of the biggest challenges facing streaming services in Africa is internet infrastructure. Streaming video requires consistent, high-speed broadband. Yet across much of the continent, connectivity still relies heavily on mobile networks rather than fixed broadband.
Industry estimates suggest that only about 4–5% of electrified TV-owning households in Africa have access to fibre broadband, limiting the quality and reliability of streaming experiences.
While smartphone adoption is rising rapidly, there are roughly 600 million smartphones across Africa, mobile internet is not always suited for long-form video streaming due to speed limitations and data costs. For many users, buffering, reduced resolution, and inconsistent connections remain common.
Data Costs Can Exceed Subscription Fees
Even when internet access is available, the cost of data creates another barrier. Streaming consumes significant bandwidth. A single hour of high-definition video can use between 1 GB and 3 GB of data, depending on the platform.
In many African markets, mobile data remains expensive relative to average income. As a result, the cost of data required to watch content can exceed the cost of the streaming subscription itself.
This dynamic creates a paradox: platforms may offer relatively affordable monthly subscriptions, but consumers still face high total costs when data consumption is included.
Payment Infrastructure Remains Fragmented
Another issue is how consumers pay for digital services. Many streaming platforms use recurring credit card payments, which work well in areas with widespread banking. However, millions of African consumers do not use traditional banks. Instead, they often use prepaid mobile balances, bank transfers, or mobile money wallets.
This situation makes it hard for streaming companies to operate. Managing recurring billing becomes more difficult, payment failures increase, and getting new customers costs more. Platforms need to set up different payment systems for each country, facing various rules and technical issues.
These challenges raise operational costs and make subscription revenue less predictable.
Low ARPU Slows the Path to Profitability
Perhaps the most important economic constraint is low average revenue per user (ARPU). Prices must stay low because incomes are limited and there is strong competition from free options like piracy. For instance, Showmax mobile plans in Nigeria cost between ₦1,200 and ₦3,200 per month. This is much lower than what major streaming services charge in Europe or North America.
While low prices help attract users, they also limit profits. Streaming platforms need to gain millions of paying subscribers to become profitable, but this is tough in markets where internet access and payment options are not reliable.
A Tough Competitive Landscape
Showmax also faced intense competition from both global and informal alternatives. International platforms like Netflix have global content libraries and deep financial resources, allowing them to invest heavily in exclusive programming. At the same time, piracy remains widespread across many markets, offering consumers free access to films and TV shows.
This combination, premium global competition and free informal alternatives, makes it difficult for regional streaming platforms to build sustainable revenue models.
Meanwhile, macroeconomic conditions across many African markets have weakened consumer spending. MultiChoice itself has reported declining subscriber numbers and shrinking ARPU across several territories amid currency depreciation and cost-of-living pressures.
The Rise of Hybrid Entertainment Models
These structural challenges suggest that the future of digital entertainment in Africa may not follow the same trajectory as in the United States or Europe. Instead of standalone subscription platforms, hybrid models may become dominant.
Streaming services may increasingly be bundled with telecom packages, pay-TV subscriptions, or advertising-supported platforms. In such models, streaming functions less as a standalone business and more as an extension of existing media ecosystems.
This approach aligns with the strategic shift now underway at Canal+, which appears to be prioritising profitability and operational efficiency across MultiChoice’s broader pay-TV and content distribution business.
A Different Economic Reality
The shutdown of Showmax does not mean that streaming in Africa has no future. Video consumption across the continent is growing rapidly, driven by expanding smartphone adoption and rising demand for local content.
But it does underscore an important lesson. The Netflix-style streaming model, built on cheap broadband, high subscription prices, and frictionless digital payments, was designed for developed markets.
Africa’s digital economy operates under different constraints. Until connectivity improves, data costs decline, and payment systems mature, streaming platforms will need to rethink how they build sustainable businesses on the continent.
Showmax’s experience shows that in Africa, audience size alone is not enough. The economics have to work too.
