DStv postpones price increases

MultiChoice’s new owner, Canal+ Africa, has confirmed that there will be no DStv price increase on 1 April 2026. However, a future price increase is not off the table.

This comes after Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot said earlier in February that the company currently has no plans to increase subscription fees for DStv packages.

“We don’t have any price increase planned at this moment,” Mignot said. Mignot has since been more specific, saying no increase was planned for 1 April, when DStv typically adjusted prices every year.

In further feedback to MyBroadband, MultiChoice has also clarified that this did not mean there would be no price increase for the whole year.

While no price increase was currently being planned, and there will be no adjustment in April, the company was still assessing all its options.

Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice raised concerns that the company’s annual price increases for DStv may be scheduled for earlier in the year.

The MultiChoice Group’s financial year ran from 1 April to 31 March. With its acquisition by Canal+, its financial year-end is shifting to 31 December to align with its parent company.

Historically, DStv’s price adjustments have been implemented from the start of MultiChoice’s financial year, meaning customers’ bills changed on 1 April each year.

MyBroadband previously asked the broadcaster whether the change to its financial year-end would affect this date. MultiChoice has now explained that this was all still being assessed.

Groupe Canal+ took control of the MultiChoice Group on Monday, 22 September 2025. This followed an extensive mandatory buyout process, and the transaction’s final phase began on 13 October.

The MultiChoice group was incorporated into Canal+ Africa as part of the transaction, and Mignot said DStv customers could expect access to new content.

He explained that Canal+ has the most extensive library of European content, which includes thousands of movies. He said customers should expect its catalogue to be combined with MultiChoice’s.

“MultiChoice content is incredible. We will have the ability to use the strengths of the two groups,” said Mignot.

“So customers can expect all that is available at Canal+. We have the biggest library of European content, including a lot of American content … like 9,000 movies.”

He added that, combined, Canal+ and MultiChoice’s catalogues would provide roughly 10,000 hours of content in 20 to 35 languages each year.

“So, in a 10- to 15-year period, we are building up a catalogue of more than 100,000 to 150,000 hours, and then we will be able to make that content travel,” said Mignot.

Bill splitting

Rather than increasing prices, MultiChoice has made it easier for subscribers to split their bills with others who benefit from their accounts.

DStv launched the feature in January 2026, and customers in South Africa can subscribe to the DStv Stream Premium package for R399 per month, or the DStv Access streaming package for R50 per month.

Alternatively, they can get a decoder package for as low as R15 per month with the EasyView package or R75 per month with the decoder-based Access subscription.

MultiChoice has confirmed to MyBroadband that the feature applies to all off-contract decoder and streaming DStv packages.

“Currently, you can only split your DStv bill with one other person, but there are plans to enable subscribers to split their bill with more than just one household member,” it added.

Through the split bill feature, the primary holder of a DStv account can use the MyDStv app to send a payment link to split the monthly bill between them and another person.

“The feature reflects the reality of shared living arrangements, where subscription costs are often divided across households, and is designed to make cost-sharing simpler and more transparent,” MultiChoice said.

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