Multichoice’s DStv revenue replacement plan failing spectacularly

Multichoice’s plan to offset the revenue it is losing by people cutting the DStv cord through increased Showmax subscriptions is failing spectacularly.

In May 2023, former Multichoice executive Yolisa Phahle stated that Showmax is expected to generate R18 billion in net revenue within five years, with an EBITDA margin of 25%.

She said Africa was the final frontier for subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) growth, which was why many international players are targeting the continent.

Despite increased competition, Phahle was confident that ShowMax could become the leading streaming service in Africa.

Showmax is the cornerstone of Multichoice’s strategy to futureproof the company and offset the revenue loss from its declining DStv satellite business.

Multichoice CEO Calvo Mawela previously explained that the company was investing billions in Showmax, as they believe streaming is the future in Africa.

Mawela was confident that it was the right strategy for Multichoice, as he believed streaming was set to take off in Africa and that they had to invest in the future.

Multichoice re-launched Showmax just over a year ago, partnering with NBC Universal and using the Peacock platform.

Showmax 2.0 launched in February 2025 as a joint venture between Multichoice and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, with Multichoice owning 70% and NBCUniversal the other 30%.

Multichoice made ambitious claims regarding the success of Showmax, stating that it would generate $1 billion in revenue by 2028, equivalent to R17.8 billion.

Multichoice’s 2025 annual financial results showed that Mawela and the rest of the Multichoice management team misjudged the market and Showmax’s potential.

“Although subscriber growth has lagged initial exponential growth targets, Showmax still delivered a healthy 44% growth in active paying subscribers,” the company said.

It added that Showmax gained market share in a regional streaming market which experienced muted growth.

However, despite the 44% growth in active paying subscribers, Showmax did not increase its revenue. In fact, it declined.

Showmax revenue

In 2023, Showmax reported annual revenue of R855 million. Following that, it experienced revenue growth, reaching R1 billion by 2024.

However, since then, its revenue has fallen back below the 2023 figures, reporting only R800 million for the 2025 financial year.

This result is miles away from the R17.8 billion target. Showmax would need to grow its revenue by 185% annually for the next three years to meet its target.

This means that Showmax will need to increase its current revenue 23-fold, which is highly unlikely considering its revenue is currently declining instead of growing.

Investment in Showmax

Multichoice stated that an additional R2.4 billion was invested in Showmax in the 2025 financial year. Since 2023, it has reported an additional R3.9 billion investment in the streaming platform.

Mounting losses

Multichoice continues to invest billions in Showmax, despite the platform not showing revenue growth. This means its losses are increasing.

In 2023, Showmax reported a significant R1.2 billion trading loss. Since then, the trading losses have increased fourfold, with a R4.9 billion trading loss in the last financial year.