If you were one of the many too busy drooling over GWM’s Ora EV yesterday, you might’ve missed the news that Showmax is officially relaunching in February 2024 and it’s bringing with it a “brand-new look, new app and entirely new product suite.”
The MultiChoice-owned streamer didn’t delve into too many specifics, leaving out details of the revamped app’s exact launch date or what sort of prices people can expect to pay for access. That doesn’t mean we’re entirely in the dark. We know Showmax 2.0 will launch with three new plans and a host of new content from Comcast’s catalogue.
That means shows and films from NBCUniversal, Sky, DreamWorks Animation, Peacock, Universal Pictures, and Telemundo. It isn’t ridding itself from the rather extensive list of studios already contributing to the platform either, such as HBO, BBC, ITV, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros., amongst others.
All that, along with a new logo and preferably reasonable prices and Showmax might be a real contender in the sea of streaming platforms.
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Those three plans we mentioned are ‘Showmax Entertainment’, ‘Showmax Entertainment Mobile’ and the strangest offering of the lot ‘Showmax Premier League’, a plan that’ll cover all of England’s top-flight football content but on mobile only.
Here are all the available details for Showmax’s plans:
Showmax Entertainment
- Series, movies, kids’ shows, and documentaries from Showmax Originals, MultiChoice Originals, Paramount, NBC, HBO, Sony, BBC and more
- Number of concurrent streams – 2
- Mobile app – Yes
- Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV apps – Yes
- Maximum video resolution – HD (1080p)
- Downloads available for offline viewing – Yes
- Data saving settings – Yes
Showmax Entertainment Mobile
- Series, movies, kids’ shows, and documentaries from Showmax Originals, MultiChoice Originals, Paramount, NBC, HBO, Sony, BBC and more
- Number of concurrent streams – 1
- Mobile app – Yes
- Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV apps – No
- Maximum video resolution – SD (480p)
- Downloads available for offline viewing – Yes
- Data saving settings – Yes
Showmax Premier League
- All Premier League live matches + extra Premier League content
- Number of concurrent streams – 1
- Mobile app – Yes
- Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV apps – No
- Maximum video resolution – SD (480p)
- Downloads available for offline viewing – Yes (excluding live sport)
- Data saving settings – Yes
Again, it’s that Premier League package that interests us most. It’s “made for mobile users” and won’t be available on the TV, web, Android or Apple TV apps. It didn’t explain the reasoning behind the decision, though we’re guessing it has something to do with SuperSport’s iron grip on sports broadcasting.
We’re not giving up hope that both the Entertainment and Entertainment Mobile plans won’t have some Premier League football and other sports to watch. Africa’s largest in-house streamer only said that the Premier League package would be streaming “all Premier League live matches,” meaning some might still make it onto the higher-end packages.
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We also know that the Showmax as we know it is being migrated onto Peacock’s own streaming platform, which is where that brand-new look and app will come into play. Fortunately, Peacock recently underwent a revamp of its own, refreshing its “terrible TV interface”.
“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,” the streamer said in its announcement.