Showmax expands African access with Kiswahili interface

Showmax becomes the first streaming platform to provide an interface in Kiswahili for its Tanzanian subscribers.

This move is a step forward to become Africa’s leading streaming service, it says.

The streaming service this follows several other continental firsts, like launching a mobile-only plan, a standalone Premier League mobile offering and to stream a local concert.

Kiswahili is the most widely spoken African language in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Unesco, and it ranks among the top 10 most widely spoken languages globally, with over 230 million speakers.

Showmax says the introduction of the Kiswahili interface is part of a “broader strategy to enhance the overall user experience on Showmax for Africans”.

The streaming service relaunched in February 2024 in partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky, running on a completely new app powered by Peacock.

Showmax has since localised launches for Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania with local content and accessibility through localised payment solutions.

Byron du Plessis, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa says local content and offerings in local language continue to resonate strongly across the continent.

“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,” says du Plessis.

Africa’s largest producer of local content 

Showmax’s parent company, MultiChoice, is the single biggest producer of African content globally, investing in local storytelling across various languages.

These include Kiswahili, isiZulu, Hausa, Yoruba, and Afrikaans and stands out for producing content in more African languages than any other content provider.

Some of Showmax’s Originals and hit series in local languages include:

•  isiZulu – Adulting
• IsiXhosa – Soft Life
• IsiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi and Sesotho – Youngins
• Afrikaans – Koek
• Yoruba – Wura
• Kiswahili – Pepeta

Visit Showmax for more info.