NBCUniversal & Sky Partner with MultiChoice on Showmax

Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky have sealed a deal with MultiChoice to relaunch the Showmax streaming brand, available across 50 markets in Africa.

Showmax will now be 70 percent owned by MultiChoice and 30 percent by NBCUniversal. It will relaunch across the continent, powered by the Peacock technology platform and featuring a range of content from NBCUniversal and Sky. Showmax also delivers a lineup of local content and third-party fare from the likes of Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures Television and others. 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,” said Calvo Mawela, CEO of MultiChoice. “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. 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 CEO of Sky, added: “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 of direct-to-consumer and international at NBCUniversal, stated: “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.”