Marc Jury, MultiChoice South Africa (MCSA) and Showmax CEO has resigned, effective March 31, 2025.
Jury joined MultiChoice as Head of Acquisitions and Marketing for SuperSport in October 2015. Five years later, he became the CEO of SuperSport. Within three years in the role, he was promoted to CEO of MultiChoice South Africa in April 2023.
In a letter to staff on November 22, 2024, MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela confirmed Jury’s departure. “While we are sad to see him go, we are immensely proud of the legacy he leaves behind…” His letter stated that Jury was leaving “to pursue opportunities in the business of sport…”.
Byron du Plessis, MultiChoice deputy CFO will take over as CEO for MCSA on December 1, 2024. “Marc will continue to work closely with us over the next four months to ensure a seamless handover to his successor, Byron du Plessis…”
Like Jury, du Plessis is a long-serving member of the Group. Du Plessis joined the Group in March 2012 as a Financial Analyst. After nearly six years at MultiChoice, he became the Video Entertainment Segment Controller for Naspers, the former parent of MultiChoice. During his time at Naspers, they separated their video entertainment business and listed it as MultiChoice group on the JSE. Du Plessis returned to MultiChoice Group as Corporate CFO in March 2019 before becoming Deputy CFO in April 2024.
Mawela expressed confidence in Du Plessis’s ability to drive growth, amidst the tough environment. “Byron’s deep understanding of our business, combined with his strong leadership, positions him well to enhance execution and drive growth.” The company recently reported a significant decline in profits and a loss of 800,000 subscribers in the last six months.
In addition, Du Plessis is closely involved in the acquisition process around the Canal+ bid to buy MultiChoice. An independent board at MultiChoice deemed the all-cash offer “fair and reasonable” and accepted it in June 2024. However, both parties, having submitted a joint merger control filing to the Competition Commission, now await approval. “Byron will continue to support MultiChoice Group CFO Tim Jacobs on key strategic projects at a group level but his primary focus will be on the South African business,” reads Mawela’s letter.
Although the recent events have cast a shadow on Jury’s time, it wasn’t all gloom. His leadership saw the launch of Showmax 2.0—which is the group’s bright spark in these dire times. Showmax grew paying subscribers by 50% Year-on-Year, according to the Group’s first half FY25 Interim results.
