MultiChoice Group has announced the appointment of Marc Jury as the interim CEO of its Showmax business. This transition comes as former CEO Yolisa Phahle prepares for retirement.
In an internal memo obtained by TechCentral, MultiChoice Group CEO, Calvo Mawelo talked about Phahle’s departure, stating, “It is with mixed emotions to announce that our Showmax CEO, Yolisa Phahle, is making her way into the next chapter of her career.”
As part of this transition, Showmax will begin reporting to Marc Jury from September 1st, with Yolisa Phahle offering full-time advisory support to Marc for a period of six months. This handover process aims to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.
Additional leadership changes are in motion, including the early assumption of his role as SuperSport CEO by Rendani Ramovha. Notably, Ramovha will temporarily report to Marc Jury, who formerly held the position of SuperSport CEO.
Furthermore, Keabetswe Modimoeng, former Icasa chairman who joined MultiChoice’s Rest-of-Africa business in January, has been appointed as the new Group Executive of Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Relations. This appointment comes in the wake of structural adjustments within the corporate affairs division. Collen Dlamini, who previously occupied a similar role to Modimoeng’s before the restructuring, departed the company at the end of August.
“We wish Rendani, Marc, and Kea the best as they take on their new responsibilities, and gratitude goes to Tex Teixeira who has been diligently holding the fort on the SuperSport front,” Mawela further said.
Read More: MultiChoice share price plunges 12% as JP Morgan downgrades rating
Recent updates from MultiChoice services
A month ago, MultiChoice, a prominent Pay-TV company, launched a significant update of its smartphone apps, from “DStv” to “DStv Stream.” With this update, DStv now offers streaming-only customers the opportunity to enjoy their content on up to two devices simultaneously, all at a fraction of the cost of a full standalone subscription.
One of the key features of the revamped app is the newly launched “Extra Mobile Stream” option, which enables customers to stream content concurrently on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop in addition to their primary stream.
The company witnessed a sharp decline in its share price following a downgrade in its rating by JP Morgan Chase & Co. Its shares were trading down 11.73% at 12:27 GMT, after falling around 12% in early trade.
The brokerage firm, according to Reuters, revised MultiChoice’s share rating from “neutral” to “underweight”. This indicates an expectation of underperformance compared to other stocks in its coverage universe over the next six to 12 months which affected the share price. Consequently, this recommendation implies that investors should consider selling their stock in the company.
Multichoice Nigeria generated N277 billion (ZAR9.1 billion) in subscription revenue for the financial year ending on March 31, 2023.
This means the company’s revenue witnessed a 29% growth compared to the N177.5 billion (ZAR7.1 billion) recorded in the previous year. This has contributed very significantly to the Multichoice Group’s overall revenue growth of 7%, amounting to ZAR59.1 billion.
In collaboration with two investors, Rapyd and General Catalyst, MultiChoice Group said it will establish Moment, a pioneering payment infrastructure platform dedicated to businesses throughout Africa.
Moment’s primary objective is to revolutionize the African payments landscape, providing businesses with an expanded and streamlined payment infrastructure that ensures more accessible, faster, and more cost-effective transactions according to buyers’ and suppliers’ preferences.
The South African media conglomerate announced an increase in subscription rates for its Nigerian audience. The increase took effect from the 1st of May 2023.
Although the growth in the subscription rate is not specific to Nigeria, it does seem higher compared to other African nations, with up to a 16% increase. Several African countries, like Kenya and South Africa, have seen their own uptick, according to MultiChoice. For instance, the business announced a 5% rise in DStv subscription prices in Kenya and a 3–10% increase in South Africa.
Read More: Like Netflix, Multichoice now allows users share DStv streaming accounts for a fee
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