At the close of last year, we reported about the upcoming Showmax rebrand that’s completing this February. The African steaming giant has now released actual pricing for various key markets it operates in including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The much anticipated launch is expected to bring the English premier league to your mobile device along with a catalogue of entertainment using a platform powered by Peacock, a U.S.-based streaming giant NBCUniversal.
In a departure from the traditional model of streaming services like Netflix, Showmax’s new plans are tailored to specific devices. For example, the “Entertainment” plan caters to TV, PC/Laptop, and Mobile users, while the Premier League offering is exclusive to Mobile. Other plans present a fusion of Entertainment and Premier League access on mobile devices.
Here are the launch prices for the new showmax streaming service;
- Entertainment mobile: R39(South Africa), NGN 1200(Nigeria), KES 300(Kenya), $3(Rest of Africa)
- Entertainment(All devices): R89(South Africa), NGN 2500(Nigeria), KES 650(Kenya), $5(Rest of Africa)
- Premier League(Mobile): R69(South Africa), NGN 2900(Nigeria), KES 500(Kenya), $4(Rest of Africa)
- Entertainment(Mobile) + Premier League(Mobile): R99(South Africa), NGN 3200(Nigeria), KES 700(Kenya), $6(Rest of Africa)
- Entertainment (All devices) + Premier League(Mobile): R140(South Africa), NGN 4600(Nigeria), KES 1000(Kenya), $8(Rest of Africa)
Apart from South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya which get pricing in their native currencies, the “Rest of Africa” is priced in U.S dollars. This presents a problem as the exchanges are always fluctuating. The rest of Africa in this case is Tanzania, Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda.
The decision to confine premium content to mobile devices reflects Showmax’s strategic move to avoid encroaching on DStv’s territory, where sports content comes at a premium via satellite TV. However, with technologies like Chromecast, Airplay, or Miracast, users might find ways to cast or screen mirror the exclusive Premier League content from their mobile devices to larger screens. The official launch of the revamped Showmax is eagerly anticipated this February.