by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice has enabled an option for subscribers of DStv decoders to now pay for an additional online watch-stream called Extra Stream but it's not yet the Randburg-based company's solution to open back up its one-stream limit it imposed on DStv households.
After MultiChoice rebranded its streaming service from August as DStv Stream, which was previously also known as DStv Now, MultiChoice has now also added an additional new functionality it's calling Extra Stream.
DStv Stream is therefore now the name of MultiChoice's streaming app, while Extra Stream is a service that existing DStv subscribers can pay for and bolt on to their existing service.
Very importantly, DStv Extra Stream will not work on TV sets with MultiChoice that only allows an existing DStv subscriber or household to get one additional DStv stream for an additional fee, on a laptop, tablet or a mobile smartphone.
Extra Stream is not yet MultiChoice's answer to rework its imposed limit of just one concurrent online DStv stream per subscriber and household, which it introduced in February 2022 in an attempt to crack down on password sharing.
MultiChoice is still testing a so-called "DStv Home Base" setting that will allow members within a DStv household to get access to more than one DStv viewing stream simultaneously, closer to how it was before February 2022 and more in line with how overseas pay-TV operators and streamers like Netflix do it.
An Extra Stream costs R199 per month for DStv Premium, R149 for DStv Compact Plus, R99 for DStv Compact, R79 for DStv Family and R49 for DStv Access. DStv EasyView can't add Extra Stream.
For the price, a DStv subscriber gets one additional internet stream with access to the same group of TV channels as through the DStv decoder, according to the subscriber's existing DStv bouquet.
With the launch of Extra Stream, MultiChoice has now also increased the number of registered devices allowed for streaming from four to 10, meaning that DStv subscribers can now allow up to 10 registered devices on which to stream DStv.
However, the number of concurrent streams and the devices on which DStv can be streamed, is still dependent on a customer's bouquet level.
A DStv subscriber can add one Extra Stream per active DStv subscription.
"The Extra Stream is mobile-only, meaning it can only be used on a mobile device (mobile phone, laptop, monitor connected to a PC or a tablet). This is similar to how customers with decoders are able to add more viewers with XtraView," MultiChoice explains.
"Addition of an Extra Stream to your subscription allows you to increase the number of devices on which your subscription can be viewed at the same time - and allows streaming on two devices at the same time."
MultiChoice says that by adding an Extra Stream, a DStv subscriber would be able to "stream on two mobile devices at the same time, or stream on one TV and one mobile device" but that it's not allowing a customer to "stream to two TVs at the same time".
"The content on your Extra Stream is linked to your subscription and use of it, also linked to your subscription. If your subscription is disconnected for any reason, your Extra Stream is also disconnected."
