by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice Namibia is also restructuring its various DStv packages and will have the Movies & Series package like in South Africa - which is left out in the rest of Africa - but with the top-end package DStv Premium getting a name change to DStv Ultimate.
Broadly, Canal+ and MultiChoice's restructuring and rebranding of its DStv bouquets will now have 3 permutations across sub-Saharan Africa:
Firstly, there is DStv Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series and Premium in South Africa - a country that will now have 5 packages, and the word "Premium" retained for the top end and most expensive bouquet.
Secondly, there is Starter, Select, Sports and Ultimate in markets like East Africa and West Africa, where Canal+ has reduced the bouquet offering to 4, with no Movies & Series package, and the Premium package name changed to Ultimate.
Thirdly, there are a few countries in Southern Africa getting the hybrid blend of both and 5 stratified packages like in South Africa but with one name change.
Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, eSwatini and Lesotho are all getting Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series but with Premium renamed to Ultimate.
It can also be explained this way: Only South Africa as a country retains DStv Premium, while Premium is changed to DStv Ultimate everywhere outside of South Africa.
Only Southern African countries, outside of South Africa, get 5 DStv packages that include the option of the Movies & Series bouquet, with East and West African countries that don't get the Movies & Series option.
Namibia switched to the new DStv packages on 5 November.
On Wednesday in Windhoek, Roger Gertze, MultiChoice Namibia CEO, at that country's media event to announce the DStv package changes, confirmed that DStv subscribers in Namibia will get Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series and Ultimate, which he said "would give customers more control over the content they love most".
In response to a media query as to why there is differentiation in East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa, and then also South Africa in the DStv packages after the restructuring, Canal+ Africa says MultiChoice Pty Ltd. runs the DStv packages in South Africa, while Canal+ Africa does it outside of South Africa.
"The DStv package line-up may differ across markets, as package structures and naming are tailored to each region. In South Africa, package decisions are led by MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd (LicenceCo), while in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, they are led by Canal+".
"As a result, the number of packages, the content included in each package and package names may vary by market, taking into account factors such as content rights, customer needs, regulatory requirements and technology readiness."