Why do shows leave Showmax?

It’s frustrating when a series or movie you’ve been watching on Showmax isn’t available any more. So why does this happen?

Like other streaming services (and like TV channels), Showmax licenses movies and series from studios and distributors. These licences comes with certain conditions, including how long we’re allowed to have the content on Showmax.

If a show you’re watching is marked “Last Chance”, it means the show will be expiring and leaving the platform shortly. Our contract with the content provider is at an end, and unfortunately we’re no longer able to stream this show. We typically try to give two weeks’ notice for expiring content.

So why don’t we just renew all the most popular shows? Sometimes the supplier doesn’t want to renew the deal, or we can’t reach terms that make sense. Other times, we make the call that in order to bring on board fresh new shows we need to let others go. Often it’s a combination of all these factors.

Choosing content for Showmax is a delicate balance and we recognise we can’t always make everyone happy. But generally, if something is popular we’ll do our best to bring it back. It may take a little time, but we’ll keep working at it.