Showmax Pro is launching in South Africa and it comes with live sport

South Africans can look forward to the launch of Showmax Pro, with live sports streaming, on Wednesday 19 August.

Showmax Pro offers subscribers additional content alongside the traditional Showmax entertainment service, including music channels, news, and live sport streaming.

It is positioned as an alternative to Netflix, with the benefit of including live sports streaming which is not available on competing services.

The service has been launched in over 40 countries in Africa, but has yet to roll out to the South African market.

This is expected to change when MultiChoice hosts its DStv Showcase on Wednesday, where it is expected to launch the service locally.

The two prominent questions about Showmax Pro in South Africa are which live sports will be included and what it will cost.

The international version includes all Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and PSL games, and live sports events like IAAF athletics, global marathons, and professional boxing.

The live sports selection doesn’t include other popular international sports such as rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, or motorsport.

Media Monitoring Africa director William Bird predicted that MultiChoice will include rugby and cricket in the local version. This, however, has not been confirmed.

The international version of Showmax Pro is priced at $17.99 per month, which roughly translates to R299 per month.

The pricing for the local version will most likely depend on the live sports channels that are included and may mirror a comparable DStv bouquet.

MyBroadband asked MultiChoice for details about its planned Showmax Pro launch in South Africa, but the company did not respond by the time of publication.