Showmax is an online subscription video on demand (SVOD) service which launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Showmax uses a localization strategy to take on established video on demand competitors with a focus on local content[5] and partnerships with mobile telcos. In South Africa Showmax has managed to out compete eight domestic competitors. It continues to compete with international video steaming services Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Showmax expanded to 36 countries in Africa, taking the total number of countries in which Showmax is available to 65.
On 7 July 2020, Showmax Pro was launched in Kenya and Nigeria. The new service bundles the existing Showmax entertainment service with music channels, news, and live sport streaming from SuperSport. The offering includes all the games from the UK’s Premier League, Italy’s Serie A and La Liga, and South Africa’s Premier Soccer League.
Downloads
Showmax’s download feature allows users to download up to 25 shows or movies at a time and watch them offline on Android and iOS tablets and smartphones. There are four different quality settings to reduce the amount of data required to download.
Bandwidth capping
In August 2016, Showmax launched a bandwidth-capping tool that allows users to choose different quality levels. Subscribers can select either a low bandwidth cap of 0.3 GB/hr, a medium cap of 0.7 GB/hr, or leave usage uncapped.
Multiple profiles
In August 2016, Showmax added a multiple profile feature including the ability to set up child-friendly profiles with four age settings.
Mobile plan
In October 2019, Showmax introduced a mobile plan at 50% of the cost of the standard subscription price. According to Showmax, “Smartphones and tablets are, for many in Africa, the primary, if not only, window to the internet, and up until now none of the most popular SVoD services has designed a product specifically for mobile usage.”
Showmax Pro
In July 2020, Showmax launched live sport streaming service Showmax Pro and began roll out across 40 countries in Africa. In June 2019, Showmax began testing sport live-streaming, and the new Showmax Pro service is based on the results of this. In addition to the standard version of Showmax Pro there will also be a mobile-only version at half the price.