MultiChoice ups DStv Premium streaming limit for decoder users to 4 in attempt to lure back abandoned customers

by Thinus Ferreira

In a desperate attempt that seems to be too little, too late, Canal+ Africa's MultiChoice is increasing the concurrent streams for DStv Premium subscribers to four - but only until the end of December 2025.

While MultiChoice's DStv subscriber numbers have plunged by the millions over the past three years, the shocking drop in DStv Premium subscribers - its most valuable customers in terms of ARPU (average revenue per user) - has been the most damaging.

DStv Premium subscribers have been vocal that they've had enough of MultiChoice's price gouging and no longer find the DStv Premium price point to deliver on an acceptable value proposition.

They have abandoned MultiChoice for other video viewing options in droves over the past three years, inflicting massive damage as they migrated to other streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and others.

When MultiChoice cut DStv Premium subscribers to just two online streams in March 2022, many fed-up customers felt that was the last straw and started to cancel their DStv subscriptions en masse. By the end of March 2025 MultiChoice had less than a million premium subscribers left.

The two additional streams for DStv Premium decoder-only subscribers until the end of December seem odd and badly conceived.

Firstly, decoder-only subscribers are decoder users because they either don't want or can't use the internet, don't have data or prefer watching using a decoder and satellite dish. 

They're now given something that was ripped away anyway, and no additional actual content. 

The additional streams for DStv Premium subscribers is an attempt by MultiChoice to try and offset the fact that these subscribers - who continue to pay the most - are not getting any content upsell package for free until the end of December in the way that lower-tiered DStv decoder subscribers are getting a one-up tiering until the end of 2025.

On a consumer psychology level, this MultiChoice marketing and promotion exercise makes DStv Premium subscribers extremely resentful and a factor into why they are cancelling.

DStv Premium subscribers, when they see how MultiChoice is giving what they have to pay for - expensively so - essentially for free to lower-tiered subscribers, these customers balk and abandon.

Status is also a factor. 

If golf estate users or owners with premium access and VIP parking spaces suddenly see or perceive that people who have not paid for that are suddenly allowed to park for free or at a lower fee where only they used to be allowed to park, the perceived value and status access they believe that they are getting and pay for, is diluted.   

It all seems very poorly thought out MultiChoice and a failure to really and properly reimagine the value proposition for DStv Premium subscribers and customers who still bother to subscribe and pay for that tier.

It makes more financial sense for DStv Premium decoder subscribers to downgrade immediately to DStv Compact Plus or lower, to then rather get bumped up back to DStv Premium for December 2025 while paying only for the cost of DStv Compact Plus.

While Canal+ and MultiChoice sit with a massive churn problem with DStv Premium subscribers, churn is also eating into its so-called "mid" and "mass"-market base who have also started to abandon MultiChoice and cut the cord.

Canal+, through MultiChoice, has been asked multiple times since October for an interview with new Canal+ Africa boss David Mignot but nothing has come of it.

David Mignot did speak to News24 earlier this month in an interview as well as to BusinessDay, and admitted in the News24 interview that "the company is still bleeding subscribers". David Mignot said the situation is "bad".

Now, to try and lure new customers to replace consumers who are done with DStv, MultiChoice is begrudgingly pumping money into DStv decoder subsidies since 1 November 2025 to lower the price of DStv decoder boxes in retail, hoping that new customers will bite and buy.

MultiChoice's calculation is that hopefully at least some of the new DStv decoder buyers forking out money for a cheaper decoder will turn into ongoing 90-day active DStv subscribers so that MultiChoice's pay-TV numbers can show some improvement when Canal+ first has to report financials in 2026 after having taken over the company.

Byron du Plessis, CEO for pay-TV South Africa at MultiChoice, in a press release sent out earlier this week, said that the promotional activity of moving DStv subscribers from one tier up to the next until the end of December  is part of MultiChoice's "broader plan to improve customer value" for DStv subscribers.

ALSO READ: Nothing for DStv Premium subscribers as MultiChoice one-ups other packages until 2026, increases decoder subsidies to try and boost sagging subs numbers

ALSO READ: Why you should downgrade your DStv Premium subscription by one tier level right now to get it back cheaper in December - and customers on other packages should too

Nothing for DStv Premium subscribers as MultiChoice one-ups other packages until 2026, increases decoder subsidies to try and boost sagging subs numbers

by Thinus Ferreira

DStv Premium subscribers - the customer tier that Canal+ Africa's MultiChoice has seen massive problems and a drop in subscriber numbers in - are losing out and getting nothing out of MultiChoice's decision to one-up other DStv subscribers to a higher content tier until 2026.

Loath to do it, MultiChoice is also going back to the decoder subsidies well in an attempt to try and juice DStv decoder subscriber numbers in the time it has left before Canal+ has to report on MultiChoice's subscriber numbers.

Until 31 December, MultiChoice is giving only DStv subscribers with a decoder access to the TV channels available on one upper tier. 

That's bad news for DStv Premium subscribers who are paying for the top-tier package but getting nothing in addition - adding fuel to the fire of the consumer psychology of why DStv Premium subscribers keep abandoning MultiChoice en masse.

On Monday, MultiChoice sent a press release first to certain website publications, and then later the same press release to others, that it is giving Dstv decoder customers access to the TV channels of one higher-tiered package between 10 November and 31 December.

MultiChoice absolutely abhors DStv decoder subsidies and has told investors and stakeholders for years during annual financial results presentations how the traditional pay-TV operator would tro ty decrease decoder subsidies.

With the massive plunge in DStv subscriber numbers, Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice's latest plan to try and turn around plunging subscriber numbers, is to flood the market with new DStv decoder subsidies.

Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice hope that the lowered DStv decoder prices at the point of sale will be able to stall, and possibly even stabilise or the plunging DStv subscriber base in South Africa as well as across Africa.

The subscriber numbers might even start to rise again due to MultiChoice's latest decoder subsidies which will look bad on the next balance sheet come reporting time, but might stop the bleeding of subscribers on the other side.

MultiChoice has enacted DStv decoder subsidies in South Africa, as well as the Rest of Africa (RoA), which means cheaper physical DStv decoders. 

Once bought - cheaper - there is a likelihood that MultiChoice can translate those decoder sales into longer-term and 90-day active DStv subscribers.

MultiChoice says it has cut - meaning a bigger subsidy - DStv decoder prices since 1 November.

MultiChoice was intitially supposed to report half-year numbers this week on 12 November, but due to the Canal+ takeover that requirement from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has now fallen away.

Since MultiChoice doesn't have to reveal DStv subscriber numbers to investors this week, it now looks like MultiChoice and Canal+ are playing for time and using the reprieve to try and boost subscriber uptake over the coming months.

Trying to rake in potential new subs and those who abandoned DStv as churn through cheaper decoders, could help MultiChoice's subscriber numbers look somewhat better or more stabilised when the first reporting time rolls around in 2026. 

Byron du Plessis, CEO for pay-TV South Africa at MultiChoice, said the one-upping for November and December is part of MultiChoice's "broader plan to improve customer value" for DStv subscribers.

It's unclear how this broader plan to improve customer value yields better customer value to DStv Premium subscribers - supposedly MultiChoice's most valuable consumers and biggest contributor to ARPU (average revenue per unit). 

In fact, it's foreseeable that there might very well be DStv Premium subscribers who decide to cancel their service permanently, or decide to downgrade during November for December and never return to DStv Premium again, when they see that it is only lower-tiered DStv subscriber packages getting upsell-benefits for free.

"What we’re doing with our Upsize campaign is part of a bigger value reset at DStv," said Byron du Plessis, in a prepared quote in the press release.

"We're focused on making DStv more accessible and rewarding, with affordability and customer experience at the heart of our strategy," said Byron du Plessis.

This will also sound bad for DStv Premium subscribers who get no discernible and visible improvement as subscribers in either affordability or customer experience.

MultiChoice apparently had some type of an online store but it's not known how that worked or what was sold through it. MultiChoice says "DStv is relaunching its online store later this month".

According to Byron du Plessis, "DStv and Canal+'s combined scale makes it possible to give customers across Africa more choice and better value than ever before".

ALSO READ: Why you should downgrade your DStv Premium subscription by one tier level right now - and customers on other packages should too

ALSO READ: MultiChoice ups DStv Premium streaming limit for decoder users to 4 in attempt to lure back abandoned customers

E! axed in Africa as it ends after 21 years, replaced by Bravo on MultiChoice's DStv from October 2025

Thinus Ferreira

NBCUniversal is dumping E! in Africa after 21 years, with the steadily dismantled channel that will be gone and replaced by the reality-saturated Bravo on 7 October.

It's an awful and tragic end for E! that MultiChoice added to DStv in December 2004.

As with all things corporate, dying and reaching the end of service as it disappears into obsolescence, there is absolutely no explanation from NBCUniversal on why it's axing E! but one, or a combination of these reasons is likely true.

E! as a pay-TV channel has been dying on the pay-TV vine for a very long time, with less and less content investment, a schedule littered with repeats, stale and old programming and repurposed Bravo content. 

E!'s only remaining "real" show - once its flagship programme and schedule staple - E! News also got cancelled, and once your sole remaining anchor programme is gone, there's nothing left of what was once signature E!.

E! is also one of the channels NBCUniversal decided to get rid of, spinning it off as one of the Versant-held channels. 

E! as part of the upcoming Versant collection may or may not be available to NBCUniversal International Networks to distribute. In fact, even if it is available, NBCUniversal International Networks might not want to distribute it because of its low relevance as a zombified pay-TV channel.

We don't know because NBCUniversal International Networks hasn't communicated to the media about changes, plans, or programming in a very long time.

What happens to the remaining E! content is unclear; NBCUniversal International Networks didn't explain, but was asked, and comment will be added here when received.

In a prepared corporate quote attributed to Hendrik McDermott, MD, Hayu, EMEA Networks & International Direct-To-Consumer, NBCUniversal, about pulling the plug on E!, he says "We are thrilled to be launching Bravo Africa, with our partners DStv, and to build on the success of the NBCUniversal channel portfolio in Africa by bringing audiences even more of the mega-hit global franchises that they already love – now as part of Bravo, the linear channel brand that is synonymous with top-quality reality content".

"This rebrand reflects the strong slate of Bravo programming that had already been added to E!, and now makes exclusive original programming and a wider selection of Bravo's immensely popular reality programmes available to DStv subscribers."

Byron du Plessis, MultiChoice South Africa CEO, in a prepared quote, says "DStv subscribers that are fans of great reality programming are going to love Bravo Africa, and we are delighted to be able to give these hugely popular shows a home on our platforms. The channel will be available down to DStv Access, as we continue to improve our customer value proposition across our packages".

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. As E! marks 15 years in South Africa as a TV channel on DStv, here are 15 things that E! brought into my life that I'm thankful for.

MultiChoice adds 4 kids channels to DStv Family

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is making the three kids channels, Paramount Global's Nickelodeon and Nick Jr, as well as DreamWorks available to the DStv Family bouquet from 25 August.

MultiChoice says it is repositioning DStv Family as "South Africa's home of kids entertainment" in a pivot to add more value for DStv Family subscribers. The DStv Family bouquet will now include all 14 DStv kids' channels.

"While our broader packaging review remains ongoing, our research shows that DStv Family customers value kids' content as much as they do local shows and movies," says Byron du Plessis, MultiChoice South Africa CEO.

"By adding Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, and DreamWorks to the DStv Family package alongside favourites like Cartoonito and Disney Channel, we are making DStv Family the undisputed home of kids' entertainment."

2025's DStv price increases: What subscribers will pay now

Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's DStv subscribers will once again have to pay more with the pay-TV operator increasing its prices for consumers in 2025 from 1 April, and an extra 0.5% VAT also being added from May.

DStv Premium is increasing by R50 from R929 to R979 (5.3%), DStv Compact Plus is increasing by R40 from R619 to R659 (6.4%), DStv Premium Compact is increasing by R10 from R469 to R479 (2.1%), DStv Family is increasing 3.03% and R10 from R329 to R339, DStv Access is increasing R11 (7.9%) from R139 to R150, while DStv EasyView is increasing by R1 (3.44%) from R29 to R30.

The DStv Access fee of R120 is increased by R5 (4.1%) to R125, while the basic Showmax monthly subscription fee remains at R99, although its Premier League and mobile packages are getting increases.

These are the prices from 1 April, however, the "final" price for DStv for 2025 will be higher, since another 0.5% VAT increase will come into effect from 1 May 2025.

MultiChoice usually announces its annual DStv price increase during mid-February. 

In a statement, Byron Du Plessis, MultiChoice SA CEO, says "Recognising the financial pressures faced by South African households, MultiChoice has implemented considered adjustments, focusing on enhancing value across its packages, with certain products receiving no increase including all DStv Stream packages, Box Office movies and Showmax Entertainment with the ADD Movies premium movie bolt on being reduced to just R49pm, a 38% price reduction."

The Randburg-based pay-TV operator was this year forced to scupper its price announcement and move it to this month after the unexpected postponement from February to last week of the budget speech of the minister of finance, Enoch Godongwana.

MultiChoice waited with baited breath to first see the outcome of the government's planned 2% VAT increase - which last week  didn't happen - and ultimately has an influence on the total cost to consumers companies calculate they're going to pass on.

Because of rampant inflation, weakening local currencies and worsening economic conditions, MultiChoice had already announced DStv price hikes for multiple other African countries ranging from 6% to over 22%.

Last year this time MultiChoice's percentage increases were 5.7% for DStv Premium, 6.9% for DStv Compact Plus, 4.5% for DStv Compact, 3.1% for DStv Family, and a whopping 7.8% for DStv Access.

1max gone after as year as MultiChoice axes its Showmax second-window channel on DStv from April 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is axing its 1max channel on DStv with the channel - that reran streaming content from its Showmax video streaming service on a linear schedule - that will be removed at the end of this March.

The 1max channel is the first linear TV channel that MultiChoice is taking away from DStv subscribers in 2025.

MultiChoice, M-Net and Showmax added the 1max linear TV channel a year ago from April without any announcement.

That was a very unusual move since MultiChoice press releases are always issued for new channel additions. It means that 1max will have existed for exactly a year on DStv when it is culled at the end of this month.

The 1max channel logo, name and colour comes from the "new" Showmax that MultiChoice and Comcast's NBCUniversal launched just over a year ago.

The "1" is from the 1Magic channel that M-Net shut down a year ago, with the "max" as a suffix from the word Showmax, to indicate that it was a derivative linear TV channel from the streamer.

Showmax Originals that got a second window on 1max will now be scheduled and shown on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).

Similar to how it didn't announce the start of 1max, MultiChoice and Showmax didn't announce its axing. Late on Wednesday confirmed the channel is being removed from DStv, in response to a media query.

"As part of its ongoing channel simplification, MultiChoice will be integrating its 1max programming onto the Mzansi Magic channel and bringing 1max to a close on the DStv platform, effective 31 March 2025," MultiChoice.

According to the pay-TV operator, "The decision follows detailed research into audience consumption behaviour. Notably, the new development will see 1max's slate of upcoming titles now move onto Mzansi Magic, further boosting that channel's already significant local content line-up".

MultiChoice says Showmax subscribers can watch series like Youngins, Adulting and Soft Life directly on the streaming service.

"The outcome of the latest changes means that audiences can access their favourite title either within a scheduled channel, or on demand, depending on their product and their viewing preference."

Byron du Plessis, MultiChoice CEO, says the update to remove 1max channel from the DStv line-up is part of MultiChoice focus on improving content discovery for customers.

"We know that our customers want to find their content as quickly as possible, without having to navigate across multiple channels or platforms. This consolidation also allows Mzansi Magic to further build its stellar lineup, becoming a stronger premium local content offering than ever before."

ALSO READ: 1max: What MultiChoice's new Showmax channel on DStv is. 

Last week MultiChoice toppers Imtiaz Patel, Jim Volkwyn and Byron du Plessis cashed in R9.6 million in shares before the pay-TV company announced lower revenue expectations this week which saw it share price tanking.

by Thinus Ferreira

Three MultiChoice directors - chairman Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice Africa director Byron du Plessis and non-executive director Jim Volkwyn - last week sold R9.6 million of their MultiChoice shares, luckily before the pay-TV company's share price tanked yesterday after it announced this week that its revenue expectations are now lower.

On 7 March MultiChoice announced that on 6 March Imtiaz Patel had sold R7.63 million of his MultiChoice shares, while Jim Volkwyn sold R725 000 in shares, and Byron du Plessis R1.28 million of MultiChoice shares - collectively R9.6 million of MultiChoice shares.

On Monday evening, in a voluntary trading update issued after the markets had closed, MultiChoice announced that its 2023 revenue expectations are now lower.

MultiChoice warned that its revenue is dragged lower because of the debilitating and increasing Eskom electricity blackout crisis, having a "significant impact" on its DStv subscriber base's activity levels.

MultiChoice also warned that contributing to the lower revenue forecast is that MultiChoice is having to spend more money in increased costs for its planned new Showmax streaming service relaunch after partnering with NBCUniversal, and that operating conditions in South Africa has worsened.

On Tuesday morning MultiChoice shares tanked - dropping almost 15% in the morning and wiping out close to R8 billion in shareholder value, before recovering somewhat during the course of Tuesday, and closing down around 14% lower.

In its trading update, MultiChoice said that "Sustained high levels of loadshedding are having a significant impact on the activity levels of the customer base." 

While not specifying it directly, investors and analysts are taking MultiChoice's trading warning to mean that its top-end DStv premium subscriber segment - its most valuable and biggest contributor to ARPU (average revenue per user) - is very likely falling again, as the number and overall percentage of DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus subscribers are possibly continuing to decline.

MultiChoice warned in its trading statement that its trading margin has been lowered to between 23% to 28% instead of earlier market guidance of between 28% to 30% for its 2023 financial year.