Showmax expands its user-interface to support Kiswahili

Showmax being a proud product of South African heritage, has long championed accessibility for its African customers, made clear by the streamer’s latest bit of news. Kiswahili is now supported by the streamer’s UI on both the TV and mobile apps, offering a new avenue for Tanzanian subscribers where the language is the largest.

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Showmax sees the new addition as the logical next step in fulfilling its dream of becoming Africa’s “leading streaming service.” According to UNESCO, Kiswahili is one of the most-spoken languages in Sub-Saharan Africa, “as well as one of the 10 most widely spoken languages in the world,” with 230 million speakers, so it was a no-brainer.

Kiswahili joins the English and Português system languages available. To make the switch, visit Showmax via a web browser, or the mobile or TV app and click the ‘edit’ button (pencil symbol) underneath your avatar. Click on ‘system language’ and choose your preferred setting.

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While the local streamer’s selection of languages is still relatively sparse, its content is anything but. Many of its home-grown series and films are shot in isiZulu, Kiswahili, Afrikaans, Yoruba, isiXhosa, Sepedi, and Sesotho, and carry with them a distinctly African feeling – from the director to the actors, to the setting.

With the numerous relaunches of the Showmax platform in partnership with NBCUniversal, in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, we expect to see similar treatment coming from the MultiChoice-owned streamer soon.

“Local content and offerings in local language continue to resonate strongly across the continent,” says Byron du Plessis, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, Showmax’s parent company. “Nine of the 10 most-streamed titles on Showmax last year were local because our audiences want to see content that relates to their local cultures. Adding Kiswahili as a navigation option makes Showmax even more accessible and personal to a large market segment in Africa.”