ShowMax finally comes to Apple TV, Chromecast

After more than six months, and the entry of the world’s leading incumbent into the South African market, ShowMax is finally available to Apple TV and Chromecast users.

The Naspers-owned video streaming service announced the long-awaited updates through a couple of press releases. While some may question why the features weren’t baked into the service from day one, the team at ShowMax will be hoping that, together with a crackdown on VPNs such as UnoTelly, they help convince people to move across from Netflix.

Apple TV users can access ShowMax by searching for it in the Apple TV App Store. People with existing subscriptions can log in right away, but new users will have to go to the ShowMax site to register.

Read more: New MWeb users to get 3 months free ADSL, ShowMax access

The app is available for 4th generation Apple TVs, while AirPlay functionality for all previous versions of Apple TV.

Launching on Chromecast meanwhile means that people have a relatively cheap way of streaming ShowMax content from their mobile devices onto their TVs. For those who aren’t sure, Chromecast is a media streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port present on most big-screen TVs. By enabling Chromecast support on the ShowMax app, owners of Android smartphones and tablets can ‘cast’ ShowMax TV shows and movies via Wifi to the Chromecast player which in turn seamlessly displays the same content on the big-screen TV.

Read more: iOS users can now download their favourite ShowMax shows

“There are times that all we want to do is sit back on the couch and take in a good movie,” says ShowMax Chief Technology Office Mike Raath. “With this new functionality it’s as simple as finding the show on your Android smartphone or tablet and pressing play – it’ll be on the TV instantly.

“We’re on a roll. This is the third new viewing option we’ve added in recent weeks. Having launched on Apple TV and adding AirPlay support to our app for iPhones and iPads in early March, and there’s more to come. One way or the other, we aim to have a solution for anyone wanting to watch ShowMax using whichever device is most convenient.”

In order to access this new Chromecast functionality on smartphones and tablets, the devices need to be running Android 4.1.0 (Jelly Bean) or higher and the latest version of the ShowMax Android app.