WWE issued the following:
WWE® & MULTICHOICE EXPAND & EXTEND MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Streaming Service Showmax to Become the New Home of WWE Network in Sub-Saharan Africa, including All Premium Live Events and Entire Archive Library
SuperSport Will Continue to Broadcast Live Weekly Episodes of Raw®, SmackDown® And NXT® In a Multi-Year Extension
STAMFORD, Conn., November 2, 2022 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and MultiChoice today announced a major broadcast partnership that will see Showmax – the leading streaming service available in the region – become the new home of WWE Network in Africa.
The partnership incorporates all WWE Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania®, as well as WWE Network’s vast library of original and archived programming available to stream on-demand.
Additionally, SuperSport, the sport broadcasting subsidiary of video entertainment platform MultiChoice, will continue to broadcast live weekly episodes of Raw®, SmackDown® and NXT® as well as all of WWE’s Premium Live Eventsin a multi-year extension.
The weekly programming will continue to be broadcast 52 weeks a year, captivating fans with a unique combination of edge-of-your-seat action, unpredictable drama and world-class athleticism. SuperSport recently launched a brand-new localized WWE content series called JAMBO WWE, and the expanded WWE and MultiChoice partnership will see additional partnership initiatives leveraging WWE IP announced during the term.
“Showmax Pro is the market leader and a perfect home for WWE content,” said Matt Drew, WWE Senior Vice President, International. “By delivering our premium live events including WrestleMania, we believe this partnership will expand our audience and deliver even more to WWE fans throughout the region.”
Barry Dubovsky, Chief Operating Officer at MultiChoice Connected Video, added: “Adding WWE to the Showmax platform is an exciting development that we know our entertainment and sport-loving African subscribers are going to enjoy, making WWE even more accessible and affordable.”
Showmax is an African streaming service that combines the best of local content, first and exclusive international series, the best kids’ shows, and live sport from SuperSport. In addition to WWE, Showmax subscribers can stream the full entertainment catalogue, including original African fantasy series Blood Psalms; all episodes of Steinheist, the docuseries about South Africa’s biggest corporate scandal; Diiche, a Showmax Nigerian Original limited series; Journey of the Beats, a 10-part docuseries on the origin and evolution of Afrobeats; Kenyan political drama series, County49, and original thriller series, Igiza.
Subscribers can also watch brand-new episodes of the second season of the Emmy darling White Lotus plus other fan-favourite HBO and Emmy-winning shows such as Euphoria and the third season of the Showmax Original telenovela, The Wife.
Showmax is also the only place to stream all episodes of Reyka, the South African smash-hit show that was recently nominated for two International Emmy Awards – one for Best Drama Series, and one for lead star Kim Engelbrecht.
The service is available throughout sub-Saharan Africa and to selected diaspora markets worldwide. For a free trial, visit www.showmax.com.
Showmax can be streamed using apps for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players and gaming consoles with data consumption management available using the bandwidth capping feature.
