Showmax, the pearl of Africa’s SVoD market, is dying. New owner Canal+ has set in motion plans to retire MultiChoice’s flagship video streaming platform by replacing it with a new proprietary Canal+ subscription app with an African twist. The move could upend Africa’s fast-growing SVoD growth, and may sour the French operator’s $3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice, if not implemented carefully. South Africa will be the first testbed for Canal+’s own streaming app for MultiChoice customers, following the acquisition of the African pay TV group in September last year. While Canal+ has not confirmed the end of Showmax, the writing is on the wall. Until now, Showmax has boasted higher subscriber numbers than rivals Netflix and Disney+ across Africa. But faced…