“We have all the ingredients in place to become the number one streaming service for Africa” – Marc Jury, Showmax CEO 

Eight years after entering the streaming market in Africa, Showmax is gearing up for its biggest year yet.

The African streaming service is relaunching in February 2024 with a brand-new look, new app, and entirely new product suite.

This comes after the announcement of the partnership between Showmax and international media heavyweight Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky earlier this year.

The new Showmax will have three plans: Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile and the exciting Showmax Premier League. Powered by SuperSport and made for mobile users, Showmax Premier League is the first standalone Premier League mobile streaming service ever to launch in Africa and will take every single match of the world’s most popular football league to every corner of sub-Saharan Africa.

As it prepares for relaunch, Showmax released a first look at a completely refreshed logo and brand identity.

“We can’t wait to share the new Showmax,” says Showmax CEO Marc Jury. “We have an incredibly powerful new technology platform, a bold brand that truly represents our driving spirit, and a content slate that is unmatched. No other streaming service in Africa can offer what Showmax is bringing to the table in the new year.” 

Showmax’s migration onto the global Peacock streaming platform means it’s ready to scale, and scale fast.

The robust platform is used across the globe and is a leader in sports streaming, having successfully live-streamed the Super Bowl to more than six million users simultaneously.

Known for its track record of setting trends with Showmax Originals, Showmax will be ramping up its content slate across the continent in December in preparation for the relaunch.

The diverse lineup includes its first 2D animation, Twende, about an adorable boda-boda driving pangolin, as well as second seasons of record-breaking bromance Adulting, smash hit reality series Kwa Mam’Mkhize and Nigerian hit telenovela Wura, not to mention the reunion of The Mommy Club. 

And that’s not all, with launches on the way for Convict Conman, a new true-crime series (from the producers of Devilsdorp, Rosemary’s Hitlist and Steinheist); Trompoppie, a murder mystery series set in the competitive world of high school drum majorettes; Nigerian legal drama Agu; first Nigerian Original feature film, School Run and reality series Sports Wives. Every Wednesday until 27 December, Showmax will also be releasing new episodes of their breakthrough CANAL+ co-production Spinners, the first African show ever selected for Canneseries.

For fans of international content, the new Comcast partnership guarantees Showmax an ongoing supply of hit content, as the media giant owns the likes of Universal Pictures, NBC, Peacock, Sky, DreamWorks Animation and Telemundo.

Viewers can expect international titles on Showmax to radically increase in the new year, with December’s lineup already including The Super Mario Bros.

Movie (the biggest animated opening of all-time, and the biggest global opening of 2023), Fast X (which was the #1 international opening of 2023), Emmy-nominated Poker Face and King Arthur epic The Winter King. 

Already home to the three most nominated shows at this year’s Emmys, Showmax will continue to draw content from Banijay, BBC, eOne Fremantle, HBO, ITV, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros, among others.

Showmax continues to go from strength to strength. It was recently named one of the RoW40 (40 Trailblazing Companies that are beating the West) by the New York based global non-profit Rest of World who said, “These emerging market pioneers are outmanoeuvring Silicon Valley.”

Nigeria’s 2023 BrandCom Awards also recognised Showmax as ‘The Most Innovative On-demand Video Streaming Platform’, noting that, “The video streaming service has demonstrated exceptional creativity, originality, and innovation within the on-demand streaming industry”.

“Streaming in Africa is about to take off and we’re ready to change the game,” says Jury. “We have all the ingredients in place to become the number one streaming service for Africa.”

What Showmax offers you:

Linda Yaccarino is set to replace Elon Musk as Twitter‘s Chief Executive Officer. She is a longtime NBCUniversal advertising executive

Although at the time of filling this report her LinkedIn Profile reads that Linda is the Chairman, NBCUniversal’s Entertainment Content Business, but it was reported that she resigned from that role Friday morning, a day after Elon Musk Tweeted that he has hired a new CEO for Twitter.

Linda Yaccarino is an American business executive who is currently the Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal. She is one of the most powerful women in media, and she has been praised for her leadership and innovation in the advertising industry.

Who is Linda Yaccarinon?

63-year-old Linda Yaccarino was born in New York City. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics, and she began her career in advertising at J. Walter Thompson.

Career

Yaccarino began her career in the media industry in 1986, when she joined Young & Rubicam as an account executive.

She quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1996, she was named President of the agency’s New York office. In 2000, Yaccarino joined NBCUniversal as President of Advertising Sales. She was promoted to Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships in 2018.

She quickly rose through the ranks, and in 2011 she was named chairman of global advertising and partnerships.

In this role, she is responsible for all of NBCUniversal’s advertising sales, including for its broadcast networks, cable networks, and streaming services.

Under Yaccarino’s leadership, NBCUniversal’s advertising business has grown significantly. In 2022, the company generated $13 billion in ad revenue, making it one of the largest advertising sales organizations in the world.

Yaccarino has also been a vocal advocate for the media industry, and she has spoken out on a variety of issues, including the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, the need for better measurement of advertising effectiveness, and the future of the media industry in the digital age.

Personality

Yaccarino is perceived as a strong advocate for the advertising industry, and she has been a vocal critic of the way that digital platforms have disrupted the traditional advertising model. She has also been a leader in the development of new ways to measure the effectiveness of advertising.

In addition to her work in the advertising industry, Yaccarino is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Work. She is also a member of the board of directors of several companies, including the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Yaccarino is a highly respected leader in the advertising industry, and she is known for her intelligence, her creativity, and her passion for her work. She is a role model for women in business, and she is an inspiration to many.

She has been a strong advocate for the future of work, and she is committed to helping people prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Linda Yaccarino has been recognized for her work by numerous organizations, including Adweek, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Role at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF)

Yaccarino is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Future Council on the Future of Media, Entertainment and Culture. She is also a member of the WEF’s Board of Trustees. Yaccarino is a strong advocate for the role of media in society, and she believes that the media can play a vital role in shaping the future of the world.

Linda Yaccarino’s accomplishments

• She is the first woman to lead NBCUniversal’s advertising sales business.
• She has been named one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine.
• She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Media, Entertainment and Culture.
• Linda Yaccarino is a strong advocate for the role of media in society.

She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a role model for women in business and an inspiration to many.

What are your expectations from Linda Yaccarino as the new Twitter CEO?

This comes at a time when Africa is approaching an inflection point in terms of broadband connectivity and affordability. 

The new Showmax group will be 70% owned by MultiChoice and 30% by NBCUniversal. It will build on Showmax’s success to date and aim to create the leading streaming service in Africa.

Powered by Peacock’s leading, globally-scaled technology, Showmax subscribers will have access to an extensive premium content portfolio, bringing African audiences the best of local and international programming. 

The service will combine MultiChoice’s accelerating investment in local content with a unique pipeline of award-winning and critically acclaimed international content licensed from NBCUniversal and Sky, third party content from HBO, Warner Brothers International, Sony and others, as well as live English Premier League (EPL) football. 

The partnership will also provide access to all the best African content such as Showmax Originals and local content from MultiChoice’s proprietary channels including Mzansi Magic, Africa Magic and Maisha Magic. 

Using a significant portfolio of global media assets and Peacock’s streaming platform, which finished 2022 with over 20 million paid subscribers in the US, NBCUniversal and Sky will provide ongoing support through the licensing of both technology and content.

“We launched Showmax as the first African streaming service in 2015 and are extremely proud of its success to date. This agreement represents a great opportunity for our Showmax team to scale even greater heights by working with a leading global player in Comcast and its subsidiaries,” said Calvo Mawela, Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice.

“The new business venture deepens an already strong relationship and builds on the Sky Glass technology partnership that we announced in September last year. We believe we are extremely well positioned to create a winning platform going forward.”

Dana Strong, Group Chief Executive Officer, Sky, commented, “This new collaboration in streaming and content with MultiChoice, NBCUniversal, and Sky takes our partnership to the next level in one of the world’s most vibrant, fastest growing markets. Last year, we announced MultiChoice as a customer of the Sky Glass platform and now we are excited to help innovate its Showmax streaming service.”

Matt Strauss, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer & International, NBCUniversal, added, “This partnership is an incredible opportunity to further scale the global presence of Peacock’s world-class streaming technology, as well as to introduce millions of new customers to extensive premium content from NBCUniversal and Sky’s stellar entertainment brands.”