DStv Stream vs Netflix — Pricing and content

Netflix’s most affordable plan for TV viewers — Basic — offers better value for money in terms of sought-after international content than the DStv Stream package at a similar price.

However, the DStv package has the advantage in terms of local content, live events, sports, and certain technical features.

Netflix has adjusted the prices of its Mobile, Standard, and Premium plans in South Africa several times over the last few years.

However, its Basic plan’s price has remained R99 since it rolled out rand-based pricing in 2018. The same price applies to the DStv Stream Access plan.

MyBroadband compared the two sub-R100 offerings to see how their features and content compared. There is no difference in content between Netflix’s different tiers.

The distinguishing components are technical capabilities, including video quality and the number of concurrent streams.

Even users on its most affordable Mobile plan, priced at R59 per month, can watch the entire Netflix library in South Africa, which had 4,042 movies and 3,112 series at the time of publication.

It is difficult to compare the value of these titles directly with DStv Access, as most of its content is delivered through linear TV channels, which currently number 89.

These channels cover a range of genres from general entertainment and actuality to kids’ programming and news.

However, it is more likely that viewers will find something they want to watch from Netflix’s 7,160 titles than on 89 channels, some of which cater to highly specific tastes.

Even if you only watched a quarter of the movies on Netflix, it would take 1,515 hours — or 63 days — of viewing to get through them.

Netflix’s Original shows, most of which have a much longer total viewing time than 90 minutes, are generally its most appealing content.

DStv Access has the edge in local content, with many channels offering movies, series, and reality programming in South African languages.

While Netflix also has several films and series shot in South Africa, most are geared towards global audiences.

DStv Stream Access also offers a few technical advantages, including a maximum streaming resolution of 1080p, compared with 720p on Netflix Basic.

Netflix is cheaper than DStv Premium — but lacks sport

We also compared the two top-end subscriptions available from DStv and Netflix to see how their features and content stacked up.

For the most part, we found the advantages in terms of technical features and content were reversed, especially when it comes to South Africans’ fascination with sports.

Netflix Premium offered better video quality, with up to 4K streaming. It also offered more concurrent streams, even including DStv’s bonus mobile-only stream.

Users are often more likely to find something they want to watch in Netflix’s library of 7,000 titles than on the 150-odd DStv Premium channels, except if they want to watch live events.

That said, DStv Premium also boasts a Showmax tab with hundreds of movies and series available on demand.

DStv Premium’s most appealing factor is its extensive sports coverage, which includes nearly all premier rugby, cricket, football, tennis, golf, motorsport, and boxing events that appeal to South African viewers.

Netflix has only started broadcasting live events relatively recently, of which only a handful involved sports like American football and baseball. It also infrequently has spectacle combat sports bouts.

Netflix Premium’s monthly subscription of R229 is less than a third of DStv Stream Premium’s monthly fee. DStv Premium’s streaming-only plan costs R799 per month, while a 12-month contract costs R699.

In DStv’s favour is the fact that users can share a subscription between two households and share the costs. Netflix does not allow users in different locations to share an account.

On the 12-month contract, that means each household will pay R349.50, about R120 more than Netflix Premium.

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