American media giant, NBCUniversal, is acquiring a 30% stake in Showmax, MultiChoice’s video platform.
As part of the deal, MultiChoice announced the formation of Earth UK Holdings Limited (EarthCo) to act as Showmax’s parent company.
In exchange for a 70% stake in EarthCo, MultiChoice will continue to support Showmax with its local market knowledge, capacity for producing local content, portfolio of sports and general entertainment rights licenses, and back-office support operations.
The partnership also involves NBCUniversal sister company, Sky. American telco and media giant, Comcast, owns both companies.
Comcast will invest cash for a 30% stake in EarthCo through NBCUniversal.
Peacock — NBCUniversal’s video streaming service — will power the new Showmax platform.