Marc Jury, the CEO of Showmax and MultiChoice South Africa, is stepping down. This will take effect in March 2025, when he will depart from the organisation after ten years in a different position.
Eighteen months ago, Jury was named CEO of MultiChoice South Africa. He served as CEO of SuperSport from 2020 to 2023 before that.
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In a message to workers on Friday, MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela stated that Jury is departing “to pursue opportunities in the business of sport, a field that has always been close to his heart”.
He adds that under Jury’s guidance, the video entertainment company celebrated numerous successes, such as the SA20 cricket league, the launch of the Netball World Cup’s all-female production crew, the Lions rugby tour, the growth of DStv Stream and the Showmax 2.0 launch.
Mawela further wrote in the letter “While we are sad to see him go, we are immensely proud of the legacy he leaves behind and are grateful for the contributions he has made to the business. Marc will continue to work closely with us over the next four months to ensure a seamless handover to his successor, Byron du Plessis, who will step into the role of CEO: MCSA on 1 December 2024, which marks the beginning of the handover.”
Du Plessis has been with the company for 13 years and currently holds the group deputy chief financial officer position. Mawela acknowledged Du Plesis’s contribution to the Canal+ deal and other strategic initiatives.
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Jury is leaving MultiChoice at a time when the company faces significant financial challenges and a sharp decline in subscribers. Over the past six months, MultiChoice has lost 800,000 subscribers, and its profits have plummeted by nearly R7 billion.
The jury resigned at a time when MultiChoice is dealing with some of the most challenging trade circumstances in its history. In a recent trade statement, the firm called the operating climate “the most challenging in the group’s history.”
Currently, the company is technically insolvent and is considering selling its insurance division to Sanlam to generate equity.