by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice is shuttering its upsell Showmax Pro offering bundled with sports content after three years, in order to make way for its new tiered Showmax service with Comcast's NBCUniversal that it plans to launch within months, with a new subscription fee structure.
Laura Cooke, Showmax spokesperson, confirmed to TVwithThinus that Showmax Pro, launched just over three years ago in July 2020, is no longer available and that Showmax Pro subscribers are moved to other services.
MultiChoice, in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky in the United Kingdom, will relaunch a retooled Showmax in its attempt to better compete against the existing and growing collection of video streaming services available in South Africa and across the African continent - most notably Netflix which has the biggest market share of subscribers across the continent.
Since 1 October Showmax Pro at a cost of R349 per month is no longer accepting new subscriptions since the sports offering of "Showmax 2.0" at its relaunch will carry the English Premier League (EPL) and other sports content folded into the streamer's enhanced offering.
Existing Showmax Pro subscribers in South Africa are offered DStv Compact Plus Stream at the same price as Showmax Pro, while subscribers elsewhere on the African continent are offered a DStv Stream subscription at the same price as Showmax Pro.
The alternative make-good offers are not available to Showmax Pro mobile subscribers.
