All the major DStv changes coming soon

Hanno Labuschagne

Hanno Labuschagne

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All the major DStv changes coming soon

DStv subscribers are set for a wave of changes in the next few weeks heading into April 2022, including price changes, channel revamps, and a controversial streaming adjustment.

South Africa's biggest pay-TV broadcaster is facing increased pressure from a growing number of video streaming services, which have started to eat into its Premium subscriber base.

Instead of competing directly on this front and recapturing its top-tier customers, the broadcaster is increasingly focused on its mid and lower-end customers, with a so-called "hyper-localised" approach.
 
marine1 said:
... and dont tell me you pay almost 1k just for sport. Then you are an even bigger moron
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I think dstv is viewed in SA almost as a basic necessity, and people will moan about the increases in price but keep paying it.
And there's no competition unless you have internet and are relatively tech savvy
 
kolaval said:
I think dstv is viewed in SA almost as a basic necessity, and people will moan about the increases in price but keep paying it.
And there's no competition unless you have internet and are relatively tech savvy
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I'm not so sure I agree. DStv has been shedding premium subscribers at quite a rate over the last few years, and I expect another big dip in numbers with the new streaming policy.
 
Aren't they focussing now on the cheaper packages? That's where I'd say they'll have more success.
 
kolaval said:
I think dstv is viewed in SA almost as a basic necessity, and people will moan about the increases in price but keep paying it.
And there's no competition unless you have internet and are relatively tech savvy
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More people watch terrestrial broadcast television than subscribe to DSTV.
 
Speedster said:
I'm not so sure I agree. DStv has been shedding premium subscribers at quite a rate over the last few years, and I expect another big dip in numbers with the new streaming policy.
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Possibly, my experience is anecdotal.
I've setup a pensioner with internet plus 3 streaming packages (which I pay for) and two months later they're back to dstv

bwana said:
More people watch terrestrial broadcast television than subscribe to DSTV.
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Sure but is sabc competition to dstv?
 
....ok lets see how that works out for you deee es teee veee..

your foresight on broadcasting's future is comparable with Mr Mantashe's view on electricity generation:

.. both stuck in the dark ages
 
maumau said:
Aren't they focussing now on the cheaper packages? That's where I'd say they'll have more success.
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Yes, that's true. I think it's beneficial to view Premium as a completely different product to the rest (it is basically double their price). The sport (and hence premium) is the one area where they have a monopoly, but this is also the area they have been bleeding.

kolaval said:
Possibly, my experience is anecdotal.
I've setup a pensioner with internet plus 3 streaming packages (which I pay for) and two months later they're back to dstv
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That's fair enough if that's been your experience. They had 2.35m Premium subscribers at the peak in 2015, that's now down to about 1.5m currently which is 36% down. ARPU has dropped to R273 from R353 in 2017, indicating a shift towards the lower end packages.
 
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There goes DStv slowly plodding along.
Its like watching a Galapagos tortoise try to catch up to the hare that breezed past a while ago....
 
What irritates me about DStv is for me to get the channels I'm most keen on, I'd have to pay them for DStv Compact Plus (R549).

This month I've been on the Family package, so in order to get everything (I want) costs about R240 pm extra, and that's effectively for only 2 more channels.

I'd need to get a VPN + fibre, which would add hundreds to the cost each month to subscribe to the most relevant option :

www.whattowatch.com

What countries is Discovery Plus available in?

A complete guide to which countries have Discovery Plus.
www.whattowatch.com www.whattowatch.com

"Launches are expected to follow in parts of Asia, Brazil, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Romania, and Portugal, although we don't have official confirmation of when each region will receive Discovery+ just yet.

Through a partnership with Starzplay, Discovery+ content is also available in 18 countries from across the Middle East and Northern Africa region (MENA) through a branded area across existing Starzplay platforms."

No mention yet of covering SA.

So for now, stick to a mixture of lower tier DStv and YT vids using LTE.
 
BCR said:
What irritates me about DStv is for me to get the channels I'm most keen on, I'd have to pay them for DStv Compact Plus (R549).

This month I've been on the Family package, so in order to get everything (I want) costs about R240 pm extra, and that's effectively for only 2 more channels.

I'd need to get a VPN + fibre, which would add hundreds to the cost each month to subscribe to the most relevant option :

www.whattowatch.com

What countries is Discovery Plus available in?

A complete guide to which countries have Discovery Plus.
www.whattowatch.com www.whattowatch.com

"Launches are expected to follow in parts of Asia, Brazil, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Romania, and Portugal, although we don't have official confirmation of when each region will receive Discovery+ just yet.

Through a partnership with Starzplay, Discovery+ content is also available in 18 countries from across the Middle East and Northern Africa region (MENA) through a branded area across existing Starzplay platforms."

No mention yet of covering SA.

So for now, stick to a mixture of lower tier DStv and YT vids using LTE.
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How much do you currently pay for your Internet connection?
 
BBSA said:
How much do you currently pay for your Internet connection?
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R199 for 40 + 40 GB from Afrihost (MTN) covers what's needed, and even manage to rollover data every month.

Every 2 months, get Telkom 7.5 +7.5 GB for R99 just as backup.

Currently thinking of going for Telkom 250 + 50 GB ( 10 Mbps then down to 4 Mbps) for R229, and downgrading the MTN to 5 + 5 GB at R99 for 7pm to midnight.

Open to other suggestions, but I like some DStv for the convenience factor, not only for myself.
 
kolaval said:
I think dstv is viewed in SA almost as a basic necessity, and people will moan about the increases in price but keep paying it.
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Unfortunately they have a monopoly over SA sport (psl, cricket and rugby). I believe you can get some of the rugby on international networks but that does not apply for soccer and cricket.

I'd leave Showmax if there was an alternative.
 
BBSA said:
Thankfully things are changing, as more and more alternatives come available.
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For South African sport, it's going to take a while before we get a good alternative that can match them.

They are fighting tooth and nail to ensure that another network does not start brodcasting SA sport as widely as they do. Greedy people.

For a country were most can't even afford a subscription, it's very unfortunate that we have to pay more for streaming than people in first world countries do.
 
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