Broadcasting18.11.2014

DStv prices versus inflation

DStv digital

DStv subscribers in South Africa have become accustomed to an annual price increase, which usually kicks in at the start of April every year.

News emerged recently that DStv prices in Ghana would be coming down due to the local currency strengthening against the Dollar and the Euro.

When MultiChoice South Africa was asked whether local DStv prices were similarly affected by exchange rates, the pay-TV operator said that its costs are made up of a number of different factors – including foreign currency.

“Each country, similarly, has unique issues in relation to costs and pricing,” the spokesperson for MultiChoice said. “In South Africa our price increases have remained stable, despite big fluctuations in currency over the last few years.”

To see whether the price increases have been stable, and how close to inflation they really are, we created a graph and table showing the price of DStv Premium from the year 2000 and what the price of DStv Premium would have been had it increased by CPI annually.

For the purposes of this comparison, inflation as measured by Statistics South Africa using the consumer price index (CPI) was used. The graph below uses Stats SA’s rebased historical CPI headline numbers.

DStv Premium price versus inflation

DStv Premium price versus inflation

Year DStv Premium Price Percentage Increase Inflation
2000 R305.60 N/A 5.31%
2001 R325.69 6.57% 5.65%
2002 R349.00 7.16% 9.16%
2003 R360.00 3.15% 5.77%
2004 R379.00 5.28% 1.49%
2005 R399.00 5.28% 3.26%
2006 R419.00 5.01% 4.73%
2007 R439.90 4.99% 7.08%
2008 R469.00 6.62% 11.53%
2009 R499.00 6.40% 6.68%
2010 R529.00 6.01% 4.26%
2011 R559.00 5.67% 4.99%
2012 R590.00 5.55% 5.62%
2013 R625.00 5.93% 5.73%
2014 R665.00 6.40% N/A

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