Stunned fans react to Showmax's viral stunt with Eric Cantona

Premier League fans around Africa tuned in to watch hosts Julia Stuart and Owen Hargreaves interview notorious former Red Devils' captain Eric Cantona to kick off the start of the new season – only to be surprised when the Frenchman stormed off the set, declaring, "The revolution will not be televised; the revolution will be live!” 

See the full clip here 

Skip to 5:30, where it’s revealed that Cantona had colluded with streaming platform Showmax to talk about its innovative Premier League mobile subscription.  

The stunt drove big results, with #EricCantona trending across the globe, and #ShowmaxPL and the campaign hashtag #ForEveryoneEverywhere trending on X for hours in South Africa as well as in Kenya.

“The stunt drove a 72% increase in PR coverage week on week, drove more than R35 million in PR value and was mentioned more than 27 000 times on social media. The stunt has also been covered on major football sites across the world including SPORTbible, Daily Mail, and more,” says Chief Marketing Officer, Yatish Narsi. 

Iconic sportscaster and Showmax Premier League ambassador Robert Marawa, who was in on the prank, shared a behind-the-scenes clip of the filming of the stunt on his X profile, which was reshared 450 times by hyped fans who had tuned in for the Eric Cantona interview. 

Fans took to X to express feelings of shock, surprise and then delight when it was revealed to be a stunt. 

What people are saying on X

Narsi says, “The reason for the stunt is Showmax’s value proposition. To echo Cantona’s sentiments, the revolution is here! The revolution is about having the Premier League on your phone and at an affordable price.”  

He concludes, “It’s the Premier League in your pocket. Welcome to the revolution!” 

About Showmax.com 

Showmax, launched in 2015 and available in more than 40 markets across the continent, is a leading African streaming service. It offers a unique combination of original African content, first and exclusive international series, popular movies, premium documentaries, and the best kids’ shows, as well as a world-first Premier League live-streaming mobile plan.  

Special offer for South African subscribers

Get your Showmax Premier League mobile subscription for just R69 at showmax.com/premierleague. Capitec customers can subscribe to Showmax Premier League via their Capitec app for just R34 per month.