Showmax will be discontinued in the near future, according to an email sent to subscribers by parent company MultiChoice on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

The company said the Showmax board had taken the decision after a “comprehensive review,” adding that subscribers would be informed well in advance before the change takes effect.

While no timeline has been announced, the move comes months after French broadcasting giant Canal+ completed its €3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025. Since taking control, Canal+ has been working on how to consolidate its video-on-demand services to compete effectively with deep-pocketed international players such as Netflix and Amazon.

The vehicle for that ambition is a proposed single super-app. Canal+ already aggregates content and access to platforms including Apple TV+, Netflix, HBO Max, beIN Sports and Paramount+ alongside its own productions and it intends to bring all of that, plus MultiChoice’s African offering, under one roof.

“The super app is what we’ve done on the Canal+ side in all our territories,” Saada said at a media briefing last year.

In January 2026, Chief Financial Officer Amandine Ferre also said the appeal of the service is its simplicity, where “all of the content is embedded on the Canal+ app, and as a user, you do not have to go on another app.”

Showmax’s discontinuation is potentially the first visible step in the consolidation process.

Since its dedicated Nigeria launch in 2019 and rebrand in February 2024, Showmax has been the only legal streaming service in the country to offer HBO’s full catalogue, exclusively and on the same day as American broadcasts. Viewers here have been watching hit shows such as “The Last of Us,” “Succession,” “The White Lotus,” and “House of the Dragon,” none of which are available on any rival platform in Africa.

Through a separate deal with Paramount, the service also brought shows like “Yellowstone,” “Special Ops: Lioness” and the full Paramount+ catalogue to Nigerian screens.

Beyond international content, Showmax was home to a growing slate of Nigerian Originals, including dramas such as “Wura” and “Flawsome.”