by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice says Eskom's frequent electricity blackouts negatively impacted growth in its DStv subscriber numbers towards the end of September as its top-end premium subscriber base shrunk by another 3% and 100 000 subscribers, and its mid-market subscribers are coming under increased economic pressure, with this customer segment that shrunk by 100 000 DStv subscribers as well.
MultiChoice still managed to grow its overall number of pay-TV subscribers which rose by 5%, to add another 1 million customers for a subscriber base of 22.1 million customers for the six months ending 30 September 2022.
MultiChoice now has 9.1 million (41%) pay-TV subscribers in South Africa and 13 million (59%) in the rest of Africa (ROA).
The Randburg-based pay-TV operator released its interim financial results for the six months until end September 2022 on Thursday afternoon, noting that its middle-market customer base (DStv Compact and DStv Commercial) remain under pressure as consumers are struggling because of unemployment, indebtedness, as well as rising inflation and interest rates.
MultiChoice's declining DStv Premium subscriber base in South Africa also showed some very small subscriber growth for the first time in years although this growth was gobbled up by a big decline in DStv Compact Plus subscribers as MultiChoice's second-highest subscription tier.
DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus together represent MultiChoice's "premium" customer segment. While DStv Premium showed a little bit of growth, it was offset by a big DStv Compact Plus subscriber decline in South Africa over the 6-month period, falling 10% compared to a year ago.
The result is that MultiChoice's joint premium subscriber base saw another 3% decline compared to a year ago from 1.4 million to 1.3 million subscribers.
MultiChoice's mid-market subscriber segment decreased 4% compared to a year ago, from 2.8 to 2.7 million subscribers. Its mass-market segment grew from 4.7 to 5.1 million subscribers in South Africa.
In South Africa, MultiChoice's revenue decreased 2% to R17.4 billion. The company says the football off-season was made worse by an extremely challenging consumer climate in the country. Overall revenue increased 7% to R28.6 billion.
MultiChoice says paying subscribers of its Showmax video streaming service grew 50% year-on-year, while the overall online user base increased 13%.
"After a slower than usual start to the
year, with global fuel and food price shocks negatively impacting consumer
sentiment, our business regained momentum due to our engaging local content
slate and strong local capabilities," says Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO.
Calvo Mawela says the pay-TV operator is looking for more opportunities to grow beyond just subscription television.
"Despite the challenging macro-economic
environment, we are well positioned given our exciting content slate. In the
second half of the financial year, a core focus will be the broadcasting of the
2022 FIFA World Cup and producing more local content that resonates with our
customers."
MultiChoice wants to grow its online offering and its Showmax paying subscriber base.
"Going forward, we will look for more opportunities to grow
beyond pay-television. We will also be bringing additional value-added services
to our customers as part of our strategy to build a broader consumer offering."
