by Thinus Ferreira
Yolisa Phahle has resigned as Showmax CEO with immediate effect, according to sources, who told TVwithThinus that more top-ranking staff are planning to leave - with Yolisa Phahle's exit as the latest high-profile MultiChoice executive to walk away from the African pay-TV company triggering heightened anxiety inside the corridors just months before the planned relaunch of Showmax with Comcast's NBCUniversal.
According to insiders MultiChoice SA CEO Marc Jury will now shepherd Showmax as well with Yolisa Phahle providing "advisory support" to Marc Jury for the next six months.
MultiChoice and Showmax on Friday didn't respond to multiple media queries first made since late on Thursday.
TVwithThinus reliably learnt that with Yolisa Phahle completely existing the business, Collen Dlamini, MultiChoice group executive for corporate affairs is also stepping down from the position replaced by Dr Keabetswe Modomoeng.
In another sped-up change, Rendani Ramovha who would have become the new SuperSport CEO from April 2024, has seen this timeframe moved up to becoming the CEO with immediate effect.
It's still unclear where Yolisa Phahle is moving to. Her exit as the latest very high-ranking executive to leave MultiChoice ranks is rattling staff who've had to deal with and already experienced the departure of a litany of top MultiChoice and M-Net execs over the past two years.
Several have been scooped up primarily by global streaming services that have entered South Africa like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ which collectively represent an existential threat for the decades-old traditional pay-TV business.
Yolisa Phahle's resignation follows that of MultiChoice's chief information officer (CIO) Brad Eliot who has also handed in his resignation.
Yolisa Phahle exits MultiChoice after just over 18 years since she joined M-Net in August 2005 from the BBC where she was a host, producer and sound and vision mixer, to head up M-Net's new DStv music channel, Channel O, at the time.
At the Randburg-based pay-TV operator, the talented manager and executive with a keen eye for detail and problem-solving quickly progressed to become the Mzansi Magic channels channel director in July 2009.
Yolisa Phahle was then appointed M-Net South Africa CEO in March 2013 - making history as the first black female in the role - and two years later as M-Net CEO in October 2015 overseeing the M-Net cluster for the entire continent.
In November 2017 Yolisa Phahle was promoted again and took on the new role of MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment - a promotion that necessitated a move to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In September 2020 Yolisa Phahle's ambit was expanded again, this time to MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment and connected video, a restructuring which brought Showmax under her purview.
During her high-level MultiChoice reign, the well-liked and respected executive - who is a trained classic pianist and violinist - oversaw the production of literally thousands of hours over the past decade and a half of localised TV content in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa for over 20 M-Net packaged TV channels on DStv for various African countries.
As Showmax CEO, Yolisa Phahle's executive attention over the past few months has been squarely focused on the intricate and high-stakes relaunch of "Showmax 2.0" - an upgrade of MultiChoice's video streaming service, which is supposed to happen and to be rolled out within months.
After MultiChoice and Comcast's NBCUniversal - together with its London-based European pay-TV arm Sky - earlier this year announced a new partnership to relaunch and jointly manage and run a reinvigorated and retooled Showmax, trans-Atlantic teams have furiously started work to ready a new Showmax with a new underbuilt, which is supposed to be unveiled before the end of March 2024 or even earlier.
According to MultiChoice and the Nasdaq-listed Comcast, the retooled Showmax in which MultiChoice will carry a 70% stake, will feature a beefed-up selection of international content.
The new-look content juggernaut's biggest task will be to take on primarily its biggest streaming rival on the African continent: Netflix.
The new Showmax will also carry live English Premier League (EPL) football for the first time - which also means substantial competition for linear SuperSport - as well as an increase in the volume of its local content slate for which MultiChoice has increased the local production budget by millions of rand.
Yolisa Phahle attended kykNET's multiday 11th Silwerskermfees film festival in Cape Town last week where she had various meetings and attended the blue carpet première of the Showmax and Canal+ co-production Spinners which is set to start in November.
At the film festival Showmax publicist Laura Cooke turned down an interview request with Yolisa Phahle to talk about the progress with Showmax 2.0 and where plans and the work currently are around the upcoming relaunch.
On Thursday evening an insider said that Yolisa Phahle "has resigned with immediate effect", noting that "it's not good at all" and that other execs "have put in notice" as well.
