BREAKING. Naspers' Showmax shutting down in Poland after just 2 years, ending the service's lofty international expansion plans outside Africa as MultiChoice Group decides to refocus its video streaming efforts closer to home.

After barely 2 years of operation Naspers' Showmax is abruptly cutting its losses and shutting down in Poland where it has been operating as well outside of South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, ending the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service's lofty international expansion plans as the MultiChoice Group refocuses its video streaming efforts closer to home.

Showmax will shutter in Poland at the end of January 2019, just over two years after it started in Poland in February 2017, promising original productions and a strong investment in local Polish shows and films.

Naspers plans to spin off the MultiChoice Group during the first half of 2019 that includes Showmax and that will continue with its South African and sub-Saharan Africa service.

Magdalena Marzec, Showmax Poland PR manager said the shut down of Showmax in Poland is part of the MultiChoice Group refocusing efforts on Africa.

"We are very grateful to all partners, clients and the Showmax team who have supported the company since its inception nearly two years ago and we are sorry that this story is coming to an end," a statement says.

Showmax Poland users don't have to cancel subscriptions or delete accounts - from 17 December Showmax in Poland will no longer charge a monthly fee for subsequent billing periods and by the end of January 2019, all subscriptions will expire.

In June this year, rival Netflix that launched in Poland in January 2016 a year before Showmax, was outpacing Showmax in terms of user growth according to data from Gemius/PBI.

Showmax has seen a constant top executive turn-over the past two years with first CEO John Kotsaftis who exited, followed by Chris Savides who was Showmax's head of Africa and left.

In August Naspers appointed Niclas Ekdahl as CEO of the newly-formed Connected Video unit in charge of Showmax and MultiChoice's DStv Now over-the-top service (OTT) for the MultiChoice Group.

Showmax on its first real original production, Tali's Wedding Diary: 'Part of a fundamental shift in our content strategy where we knew we needed to be different'.

Showmax's first real own, original local South African production, Tali's Wedding Diary, available from 14 December, is the result of a content strategy shift at the video streaming service that realised that it had to be different from competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and had to start making its own local South African stories.

Tali's Wedding Diary, filmed in Cape Town, is rolling out from 14 December 2017 on Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service as a quirky, 8-episode mockumentary show starring comedian Julia Anastasopoulos, produced by Sketchbook Studios.

Besides being Showmax's first real local and original South African production not co-produced and cross-financed with one of MultiChoice's DStv TV channels, Tali's Wedding Diary is also the very first local South African mockumentary-style show with a main character acting as a first person, straight-to-camera narrator.

While Netflix already has several of these American-made mockumentary styled shows with a few that have also been made for linear broadcast channels in recent years in countries like Australia, the genre is very new and still largely unfamiliar to South African viewing audiences, with Tali's Wedding Diary breaking new ground for South Africa's TV industry.

Tali's Wedding Diary is created by Julia Anastasopoulos and Ari Kruger, and executive produced by Akash Bhatia, Candice Fangueiro and Shaamila Fataar.

"Tali's Wedding Diary is our first, first real Showmax Original production, says Candice Fangueiro, Showmax's head of content for Africa.

"We launched Showmax two years ago and this year we saw a fundamental shift in our content strategy where we knew we needed to be different."

"We needed to be different. We had to start creating content; producing local stories that South Africans would come to fall in love with and the passion and dedication of Julia Anastasopoulos is testament to that."

"Just by her Instagram following you can see that South Africans love her. So I think we're heading in the right direction."

Candice Fangueiro says Showmax is starting to give "writers and directors a canvass for their visions, and an opportunity to showcase all of the amazing South African talent we have in the country".

"We have to start acquiring new and different shows that have never been seen before and we had to start pushing the boundaries of putting our customers first."

About possible further seasons for Tali's Wedding Diary, Candice Fangueiro says "there's no looking back and there's only looking forward now. We're looking forward to possibly a Tali's Baby Diary. And a Tali's Travel Diary."

About the commissioning and production process Candice Fangueiro says "we've had our ups and our downs; we've learnt lessons, but we've come out on the other side with something really cool, really unique, something different and something that we've seen that South Africans really connect with at this point in time."

Showmax is looking at possibly dubbing Tali's Wedding Diary and also making it available in Poland where the streaming service also has a presence.

"We're so proud of Tali's Wedding Diary," says Chris Savides, Showmax head of Africa.

ALSO READ: REVIEW: Tali's Wedding Diary on Showmax a funny, cringe-filled mock-doc series for our self-obsessed age.

BBC Worldwide sells more than 150 hours of content to Showmax Africa, including Planet Earth II, Call the Midwife and Special Forces.

BBC Worldwide has sold more than 150 hours of content to Naspers' subscription video-on-demand S(VOD) service Showmax in Africa.

The content from the BBC Worldwide will be available in South Africa and the other 35 African countries in which Showmax operates that in Africa now resorts under MultiChoice's DStv Digital division.

BBC Worldwide announced the Showmax deal at TV market MIPCOM 2017 that includes a mixed-genre package of more than 150 hours of content ranging from natural history and drama to factual entertainment programming.

"I am delighted that Showmax subscribers across the African continent will soon have access to some of the most loved and much talked about shows from the BBC and leading UK independents through this new agreement," says Joel Churcher, vice president and general manager for Africa.

"BBC Worldwide has a deep catalogue of premium content which we can offer across all platforms to ensure African audiences can view our world class content whenever and wherever they choose."

Chris Savides, the head of Showmax Africa says "BBC shows are a cornerstone of our content lineup and have played a major part in propelling Showmax from a standing start two years ago to one of the most popular internet TV services in Africa".

"We're looking forward to adding even more BBC content in the future".

BBC Worldwide shows that will become available on Showmax include:

Planet Earth II
The updated natural history series shown earlier this year on BBC Earth (DStv 174). Travelling through jungles, deserts, mountains, islands, grasslands and cities, this series explores the unique characteristics of Earth's most iconic habitats and the extraordinary ways animals survive within them.

Call the Midwife seasons 4 - 6
The triumphs and tribulations of the nurses and nuns from the Nonnatus House convent as they work in the poverty-stricken East End of London.

The Durrell’s seasons 1 & 2
The adventures of the eccentric Durrell family as they embrace life on a gorgeous Greek island of Corfu in the 1930’s. Based on Gerald Durrell’s much-loved Corfu trilogy, the series sees widow Louisa Durrell and the family adjust to their new life, face a whole new set of challenges and meet new friends, rivals, lovers and animals.

The Collection 

A tale of secrets, lies and high fashion from writer Oliver Goldstick (Desperate Housewives). Set in 1947, the series tracks a pivotal moment in France’s history when fashion became a vehicle for transformation and reinvention.

Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week seasons 1 & 2

In this action-packed series, 29 super fit men and women take on the challenge of their lives when they have to endure 12 days straight of physical and mental endurance, masterminded by some of the world’s toughest special forces operatives, to discover who can survive and ultimately win. 

The second season was filmed in South Africa.

Naspers' SVOD Showmax folded into MultiChoice's DStv Digital Media; not a cost-cutting exercise says Showmax.

Naspers' 2-year old subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Showmax is folding its South African and African operations into the DStv Digital Media unit of Naspers' MultiChoice pay-TV satellite service, with Showmax saying it's not a cost-cutting exercise.

The merged Showmax and DStv Digital Media will be renamed as a new digital division reporting directly to Imtiaz Patel, CEO of Naspers' video entertainment unit.

Showmax's operations outside of South Africa will be headed up by John Kotsaftis, while Graeme Cummings, DStv Digital Media general manager and Chris Savides, Showmax Africa boss, will continue in their roles for now.

So far there's been no announcement from Naspers, MultiChoice or Showmax, while Imtiaz Patel told staffers that Showmax Africa will be folded into DStv Digital Media, reporting to MultiChoice South Africa CEO Mark Rayner while Naspers looks for someone to head up the newly combined digital unit.

"The time has come for us to align these two services more closely to create an even better entertainment experience for our customers and to truly innovate in this space," said Imtiaz Patel to staffers.

"This is an opportunity for us to truly leverage the skills and capabilities we have built in these two teams, and create greater synergy. For this reason, we will be bringing Showmax Africa and DStv Digital Media together in Africa to create a new digital division (final name to be decided) reporting directly into me."

"Graeme Cumming, GM for DStv Digital Media and Chris Savides, Showmax head of Africa, will continue to provide leadership," said Imtiaz Patel.

Over the past year Showmax, launched by Naspers as its own service and directly competing with MultiChoice's DStv and other SVOD services, has become so integrated with MultiChoice's offering that it's become virtually indistinguisable as a separate service.

Bloomberg first reported that Naspers is merging Showmax and MultiChoice's DStv Digital Media division to cut costs and to share exclusive content - something that ShowMax and MultiChoice have already been doing in terms of TV production costs and broadcasting licensing rights.

In response to a media enquiry in the week asking about it, Showmax spokesperson Richard Boorman told TVwithThinus that "we're looking at opportunities for DStv and Showmax to work more closely on digital entertainment products to the benefit of both sets of customers."

'There's no specific details to share at this point, but I can say it's not a cost-cutting exercise."

MultiChoice in response to a similar media enquiry said "we're looking at opportunities for DStv and Showmax to work more closely on digital entertainment products to the benefit of both sets of customers. There are no specific details to share at this point."

ShowMax greenlit first ShowMax Original series, Tali's Wedding Diary from Sketchbook Studios, with Julia Anastasopoulos.

The video streamer service ShowMax has added a new local production, Tali's Wedding Diary, that's currently filming 8 episodes in Cape Town that will be released in December.

ShowMax picked up Tali's Wedding Diary, produced by Sketchbook Studios, as a mockumentary with Julia Anastasopoulos who who is known for her SuzelleDIY persona and who will be channeling one of her other alter-egos for the new show.

ShowMax says Tali's Wedding Diary is the first ShowMax Original series the Naspers-owned subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service is producing, with production that's also underway on iNumber Number as a TV series - a co-production between ShowMax and M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) on turning the 2013 film of the same name into a series.

In Tali's Wedding Diary, Julia Anastasopoulos will portray Tali, a self- and selfie-obsessed princess who has moved to Cape Town and who has hired a documentary film crew to film the build-up to her wedding with her property-agent fiance Darren.

"ShowMax instantly bought into what Ari Kruger, co-creator and director, and I, were trying to do," says Julia Anastasopoulos in a statement. "We've got world-class acting and production talent so it's a huge boost to see a local company fund local productions".

Chris Savides in the statement says "supporting African productions is absolutely part of our strategy".

The 8 episodes of Tali's Wedding Diary will be approximately 20 minutes in duration each.

Naspers' SVOD ShowMax does its first service tier split; creates cheaper ShowMax Select; launching in Poland on 15 February.

Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service ShowMax has done its first market segment service tier split since it launched in August 2015, creating a cheaper alternative branded ShowMax Select in conjunction with cellular service provider Vodacom.

ShowMax is also getting ready to launch in Poland next week, starting on 15 February 2017 with a monthly subscription of 5 euro or R70.90.

Until now ShowMax has only had one subscription "tier" costing R99 per month but is now doing its first bundling stratification to create a lower-tiered service for R49 per month its calling ShowMax Select.

ShowMax Select can only be paid for by adding the R49 to Vodacom subscribers' monthly bill while ShowMax Premium has various payment offers. ShowMax Select makes it possible for people without a credit card to get access to the SVOD player's service.

ShowMax Select as a cheaper option - the first consumer demographic delineation for the SVOD player - limits the portion of international content available in the bucket for the client. 

With less international content licensing rights payable to foreign distributors and filling up with local shows - many of which is owned by through-the-wire-fence pay-TV broadcaster M-Net - ShowMax is able to lower offer a cheaper targeted product.

More than 50% of the available content on ShowMax Select is local content, resulting in the 50% cheaper price difference.

Besides the higher local content bucket, ShowMax Select is also optimised to use as little data as possible of Vodacom users who have to watch on smartphones and tablets. The default level is standard definition (SD), using almost 40% less data than ShowMax Premium.

Chris Savides, head of ShowMax Africa, says ShowMax Select costs "half the price of our existing ShowMax Premium service with a strong focus on local content. We designed ShowMax Select to be viewed first and foremost on mobile devices,with multiple options for managing data consumption".