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Last month, MultiChoice released Showmax Pro in South Africa, offering the full Showmax experience augmented with a live sports streaming package.
The service is considerably more expensive than the standard version of Showmax, but it does offer a separate live sports streaming package, something Netflix doesn’t include.
Netflix and Showmax have competed fiercely in the South African video-on-demand market, each offering a number of major popular shows.
Both have also invested heavily in local content and in the production of films and series for the South African and African markets.
However, with the introduction of Showmax Pro, the high-end products of both platforms now differ greatly in terms of price and content.
Here’s a summary of the content and price differences between the Netflix Premium and Showmax Pro packages.
Live sport
First of all, it’s important to note that Showmax Pro offers a selection of live sports to watch online, something that only DStv Now in South Africa fully matches.
However, DStv Now requires a standard DStv subscription, as does the standalone DStv streaming service MultiChoice plans to launch this year.
However, the live sport available on Showmax Pro does not include many of the popular events available on SuperSport via DStv Premium.
The list of sports available in Showmax Pro is below:
- Football: English Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, FA Cup, UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues (SA only) and Premier Soccer League.
- Athletics: Diamond League and World Challenge League.
- Running: Berlin, Boston, London, New York and Soweto marathons.
- Boxing: Selected events from the IBF, WBA, WBO, WBC and African boxing.
- Other (SA only): Swimming, extreme sports, eSports, basketball, triathlon, horse racing, EFC, netball and hockey.
In particular, rugby, cricket and motorsports are omitted from this list, although the selection is excellent if you are a football fan.
Netflix does not offer live sports streaming, and if you are primarily concerned with the type of content described above, Showmax Pro is the best option for you.
Movies and series
However, when it comes to movies and series, the ball is in Netflix’s court.
Not only does the international streaming platform offer a much broader selection of movies and series, but it also benefits from the large investment it has made in producing high-quality originals.
While Showmax also has funded originals and HBO’s library of high-quality content, Netflix’s selection is much wider.
Movies and series available on Netflix and Showmax in South Africa are listed below, according to the catalog aggregator. Just look.
| Content | Netflix | Showmax |
|---|---|---|
| Serie | 1,770 | 473 |
| Films | 3,572 | 1,034 |
The content is subjective and viewers may prefer to watch certain shows that are available on Showmax rather than have access to Netflix’s selection of content, or vice versa.
However, when comparing the numbers from both platforms, it is clear that Netflix has the upper hand in terms of content.
Prices
When it comes to pricing, Netflix Premium has a significant advantage over Showmax Pro, being less than half the price.
However, the Showmax Pro price is so high due to the inclusion of live sports streaming. The standard version of Showmax, which includes the same library of movies and series, costs the same as Netflix Basic.
Below are the monthly prices for Netflix Premium and Showmax Pro:
- Netflix Premium – R169
- Showmax Pro – R449
The Premium version of Netflix differs from the Basic plan by allowing 4K streaming support, as well as support for four simultaneous streams.
Showmax Pro does not offer 4K streaming and only supports two simultaneous streams.
While the standard version of Showmax is reasonably priced at R99 per month, the Showmax Pro’s R449 price tag is a hefty price to pay for a streaming service each month.
Based on our comparison, unless you are a huge fan of football or one of the other sports listed and don’t have DStv, there is no reason to sign up for Showmax Pro over Netflix Premium.
Now read: What to watch on Netflix, Showmax and Video Play this weekend
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