by Thinus Ferreira
While Canal+ and MultiChoice restructured its DStv packages in South Africa into 5 bouquets, the rest of sub-Saharan Africa will get a reduced and more simplified structure of just 4 DStv packages, with no Movies & Series package and the top-tier package, DStv Premium, rebranded as DStv Ultimate.
The restructuring of DStv packages in East Africa comes as Canal+ and MultiChoice saw a continued dramatic loss and churn in DStv subscribers in Kenya, as its third-largest market on the continent.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, Canal+'s MultiChoice lost another 57 000 DStv and GOtv subscribers in the first half of this year, dropping to 653 066.
In Botswana in Southern Africa, Canal+ and MultiChoice are sticking with 5 packages like in South Africa, but Premium is also changed to Ultimate.
In West Africa, like Ghana, an announcement was also made on Monday that DStv's packages are reduced to 4, like in East Africa.
In Uganda on Monday, at MultiChoice Uganda's head office in Kampala, MultiChoice Uganda also announced the reduction to 4 packages: Starter (Shs25,000), Select (Shs60,000), Sports (Shs100,000) and Ultimate (Shs185,000).
Hassan Saleh, MultiChoice Uganda CEO, said "Our focus is on giving subscribers better value and access to the entertainment they love".,” Saleh said during the launch at the company’s head offices in Kampala on Monday.
On Monday, MultiChoice Kenya announced that the restructured DStv packages, which came into effect from 17 September in South Africa, will roll out in East Africa from 5 November, in addition to the launch of SuperSport Swahili.
Similar to the restructure that came into effect in South Africa last month, Canal+ and MultiChoice will now have DStv Starter, DStv Select and DStv Sports as its packages.
There will however, be no Movies & Series package that in South Africa replaced DStv Compact Plus, with DStv Premium as the most expensive fourth package being renamed as DStv Ultimate.
In East Africa, Canal+ and MultiChoice are reducing its 6 DStv packages to just 4.
In a statement, the pay-TV provider says "The new line-up introduces four DStv packages: DStv Starter at KES 750, DStv Select at KES 1,500, DStv Sports at KES 3,000 and DStv Ultimate at KES 7,300."
DStv Starter will have 116 TV channels, including Maisha Magic Plus, Maisha Magic Loko, Cartoon Network, Disney Junior, La Liga and Novela+. SuperSport Kickoff is a new TV channel added to this bouquet that will show selected live matches from major football leagues, including the Premier League.
DStv Select costs KSh1,500 and will have 149 TV channels, with a mix of movie channels, local and international series, selected football and other sports, lifestyle content and children's programming.
DStv Sports, priced at KSh3,000, will have 159 TV channels, including all Premier League matches, the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. It will also feature WWE and UFC content, along with general entertainment channels available on DStv Select.
DStv Ultimate will cost KSh7,300 and have 180 TV channels.
Instead of a separate Movies & Series package like in South Africa, this content of this separate package is folded into DStv Ultimate that also includes access to Formula 1, MotoGP, cricket, rugby, ATP tennis and golf majors.
Notably, the price of DStv Ultimate has also been reduced by KES4,400 from KES11,700 to KES7,300.
TVwithThinus asked Canal+ and MultiChoice why the available DStv package offering is being reduced to just 4 bouquets, and why DStv Premium is being rebranded as Ultimate and not kept "Premium" like in South Africa.
Comment will be added here when received.
On 5 November, SuperSport Swahili will launch as a new Swahili-language sports channel for East African DStv subscribers with the sports channel that will be available in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
SuperSport Swahili will carry Premier League football, UEFA competitions, La Liga, Serie A, international football, athletics, UFC, WWE wrestling, as well as local and regional sports programming.
SuperSport Swahili will carry Swahili commentary and analysis.
At the launch event on Monday for the restructured DStv packages that took place at the Radisson Blu Nairobi hotel, Nzola Miranda, MultiChoice Kenya CEO, said "This marks a defining moment in our 30-year journey in Kenya. For the first time, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our entire product portfolio, reimagining and simplifying our package offerings to reflect the evolving needs, preferences and realities of Kenyan consumers".
Nzola Miranda admitted that the restructured DStv packages and price reduction is part of Canal+ and MultiChoice's strategy to win back some of the millions of subscribers the pay-TV company lost the past four years.
"You either increase prices, you get more money from fewer people, or you increase the number of customers, even if they pay less," Nzola Miranda said.
"We are now embarking on a journey to have more and more customers join us and watch football, sports and entertainment seamlessly."
"We now belong to a global group with a different philosophy. The more people who watch our content, the better. That is why we are making our content available to more people and not restricting it to some."
"Increasing prices without adding content or value is worthless. That is why some of our customers left us, and we hope from November they start coming back," Nzola Miranda said.
"We need to meet where the pockets of Kenyans are. This is the start of another 30 years for us to stay here in Kenya."
MultiChoice Kenya will continue to invest in localised production in Kenya, like the drama series Chamaa which is placed on the Maisha Magic Plus channel on the cheapest DStv Starter package.
"There have been long debates on how we protect our local industry and make content more accessible. By putting Chamaa at our lowest price point, we want more households to see it." Nzola Miranda said.
