• Showmax Originals and select titles are moving to DStv Stream, where they will live in a dedicated Showmax section within the app.
• The move ensures the award‑winning African stories remain widely available after the Showmax service closes on 30 April 2026.
• DStv Stream brings together on‑demand entertainment and live TV, including sport, in one streaming destination.
• Showmax Originals and more will be available to DStv Compact and DStv Premium satellite and streaming-only customers via the DStv Stream app.
• More movies and series will be added over the coming weeks.

“Showmax helped unlock a wave of world-class African storytelling,” says Nomsa Philiso, Director Content, General Entertainment English and Portuguese speaking territories at MultiChoice, a CANAL+ company. “Series like The Wife, Youngins, Devilsdorp , and Adulting, along with productions from Nigeria, Kenya and across the continent, were created through collaboration between MultiChoice’s content teams and local producers. That commitment to African storytelling does not change.”

The success of Showmax Originals has been built through partnerships with producers, writers and creative talent across Africa. Series such as Spinners, a co‑production between MultiChoice and CANAL+, which aired across Africa and in France, demonstrate how locally developed African stories are increasingly reaching global audiences. 

For South African customers, DStv Stream remains the platform where this content is available locally, alongside a much broader library of African and international content, live channels and sport.

“This move brings together Showmax Originals, on‑demand entertainment and live television in a single platform designed around how audiences want to watch and enjoy their content today,” says Willington Ngwepe, CEO of MultiChoice SA (Pty) Ltd, the broadcasting services licensee.

How to get Showmax on DStv

You (customers) can download the DStv Stream app or visit the DStv website, log in or sign up, and navigate to the Showmax section. Showmax Originals on DStv Stream are available on DStv Compact and DStv Premium packages. This includes satellite customers, who get access to DStv Stream as part of their package, as well as standalone DStv Stream customers. DStv Compact Stream is available from R299. 

Beyond its content library, DStv Stream includes a range of useful streaming features such as live and on‑demand viewing, pause and rewind, Watch From Start, offline downloads, recording, and the ability to adjust video quality to manage data usage.

Category	DStv Stream *Content and channels available varies per package.	Showmax (across plans)
Live TV channels	Yes	No
Live sport (incl. Premier League)	Yes – via SuperSport, Compact and above on all devices	Premier League and PSL only, on mobile plans only
Other live sport	Yes	No
MultiChoice Originals	Included	Included
Showmax Originals	Included	Included
International series & movies	Included	Included
All content in one place	Yes	Mainly Entertainment and some sport (split)
Single, simple platform	Yes	Multiple plans required
Devices supported	Mobile, Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV, Hisense and more,	Showmax Entertainment: Mobile, Smart TV, laptop, Android TV, Apple TV and more. Showmax PL: Mobile only
Maximum resolution	HD (1080p)	HD (1080p)
Mobile‑only plans	No	Yes
Concurrent streams	Multiple (plan dependent)	Varies by plan (1–2 streams)
Downloads for offline viewing	Yes	Yes
Watch from start (live TV)	Yes	No
Catch‑up / replay	Available (not all content)	Not available
Reverse EPG	Yes (selected channels)	No
Kids profiles & parental controls	Profiles, PINs & age limits	Profiles & age limits
Split / shared bill payments	Yes (Split My Bill via MyDStv App)	No
Rewards & loyalty benefits	DStv Rewards (earn & redeem Coins, incl. bill payments)	No
Advertising model	Ad‑supported streaming	Ad‑free
Overall proposition	All‑in‑one live TV, sport, entertainment and value platform	Entertainment and sport accessed via separate plans

The award is one of the biggest accolades in Asia and the Showmax Original will pit itself against:

• The BAFTA-nominated All Creatures Great and Small S4
• La Storia, named 2024 Series of the Year by The Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
• Aspergirl, winner of Best Actor for Carel Brown at last year’s Series Mania in the French competition

At the start of this week, the acclaimed Showmax Original was also released on CANAL+ in France, with two episodes every Monday. 

Reviews in France are as glowing as they were in South Africa. Le Figaro says Spinners “happily explores new fictional territories and allows you to discover an astonishing motorsport”; Diverto uses phrases like “absolutely captivating”, “breathtaking” and “both spectacular and full of suspense”; Allociné calls it “a gripping thriller… somewhere between Fast and Furious and Gomorra with a little hint of Moonlight”; Le Journal DuManche says, “If we put the film City of God, the Fast and Furious franchise and the Gomorrah series in a shaker… the final cocktail could look like this production!”; and Télé-Loisirs says, “Forget Fast and Furious, the Spinners series has a lot more under the hood than the saga with Vin Diesel and it will make you buzz with pleasure!”

The first African series ever selected for CanneSeries, Spinners follows Ethan (breakout star Cantona James), a 17-year-old driver working for a local gang. Needing to support his younger brother but increasingly disgusted with gang life, Ethan discovers a possible way out via spinning, an extreme motorsport where he can put his driving skills to better use. With a gang war looming, can he turn his life around fast enough? 

With nothing like it we’ve ever seen and set to make huge waves not only locally but internationally thanks to a concept / activity / sport (spinning cars) unique to Mzansi, Spinners cleverly shines a light on a way of life that is familiar to most of us residing here but perhaps also unfamiliar to some and probably even more so to international audiences who will be exposed to as a byproduct of the fact that it’s the first ever African series selected in competition at Canneseries.

From Showmax and CANAL+, Spinners follows Ethan, a 17-year-old driver working for a local gang. Needing to support his younger brother but increasingly disgusted with gang life, Ethan discovers a possible way out via spinning, an extreme motorsport where he can put his driving skills to better use.

It will officially premiere across Sub-Saharan Africa on Showmax on 8 November 2023, with new episodes on Wednesdays for the rest of the year, and on CANAL+ in Africa on 13 November 2023. STUDIOCANAL is handling international sales.

Spinners is driven by great story brought to life in a realistic manner by A+ grade level of acting led by Arendsvlei’s Cantona James and Chelsea Thomas. They’re joined by Dillon Windvogel (Blood & Water) and Elton Landrew (Recipes for Love & Murder), South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) winners Brendon Daniels (Zulu, Skemerdans, Five Fingers for Marseille) and Dann Jaques Mouton (Arendsvlei, Noem My Skollie), SAFTA nominee David Isaacs (co-creator of Joe Barber) and rising star Katlego Lebogang (Wounds).

If you’ve never left your jaw on the floor watching spinning, Cantona explains what you’ve been missing. “Spinning is making art with your car,” he says. “Going in a donut, making an eight, people hanging outside a car while it’s spinning, standing on top of a car… it’s just thrilling.” 

Spinners is undoubtedly one of the few local series that is the gold standard and perfectly sets the tone for others to follow as an example of how to tell our unique stories with no notion of trying too hard or attempting to replicate what’s already been done. This type of high-quality original local content feels us with immense pride, a firm nod to you Showmax… may it long continue.