NBCUniversal is planning to let go of dozens of staffers as an African streaming service it operated in partnership with French broadcaster Canal+ shuts down.
The layoffs affect employees who worked on the streamer Showmax, two people familiar with the cuts told Business Insider. A streaming employee briefed on Wednesday on the cuts said about a dozen US staffers on the global streaming product team were impacted, and that dozens of others could be affected internationally. A second person familiar with the layoffs said there’s a consultation process involved with the international cuts.
Showmax, which Canal+ operated jointly with Comcast subsidiaries NBCU and Sky, told customers last week that it would be shut down, though it didn’t say when.
Canal+ called the money-losing Showmax an “expensive failure” in its fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday. The French company owns 70% of Showmax after acquiring South African TV provider MultiChoice. Comcast holds the remaining 30% stake in all but one of the 44 African countries where Showmax operates.
The soon-to-be-gone Showmax runs on the same tech platform as US-only Peacock and the European streamer SkyShowtime.
Unlike other major streamers, Peacock isn’t trying to go worldwide.
Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh said in early March that the flagship streamer isn’t planning to expand internationally, telling investors that “domestic is our path.”
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