How much it costs to build your own “SuperSport”

SuperSport dominates local sports, owning the broadcasting rights to many popular competitions in the country.

To access SuperSport, South Africans must subscribe to an appropriate DStv package – each of which offers a different number of SuperSport channels. To access all SuperSport channels, you must subscribe to DStv Premium.

DStv Premium costs R819 per month and offers over 15 sports channels to South Africans.

Many South Africans, however, have requested that DStv offer a sports-specific package or a pick-your-channel option.

This was shown in a MyBroadband survey, where 60% of respondents said they would be interested in a SuperSport-only streaming package.

Value for money

While certain users may feel they are paying for a variety of non-sports channels they are not interested in when signing up for DStv Premium, the truth is that the package offers significantly more value to sports fans than signing up for independent sports streaming services.

This is evident when comparing various independent sports streaming options available against the DStv Premium package.

The table below shows the price of various sports streaming services that provide the content available on DStv Premium’s SuperSport channels.

There were no pure streaming options for arguably the three most popular sports for South African viewers – soccer, rugby, and cricket.

However, the total price of the available packages still exceeds that of the entire DStv Premium package.

It must be noted that pricing was converted to rand, based on US dollar pricing. Many of the streaming services below are also not available in South Africa.

Comparing DStv Premium to other sports packages

Comparing DStv Premium to sports broadcasting services from other countries also uncovers interesting results.

ESPN+ in the United States offers a variety of great sports channels for a significantly cheaper price than DStv Premium.

It is worth noting, however, that there are popular sports broadcasts in the US that are omitted from the ESPN+ service – such as the NBA and Monday Night Football.

Other sports packages from countries such as the UK and Australia also show that the pricing of DStv Premium isn’t out of place for a bouquet that offers premium sports programming – particularly considering DStv Premium isn’t a sports-exclusive service.

Australia’s Foxtel Sports HD is priced at AUS$74 per month for the sports package alone, while the UK’s Sky Sports Add-On streaming service costs £30 per month.

Comparison is difficult

As shown above, a comparison between DStv Premium and competing services internationally is difficult, due to the fact the SuperSport channels are bundled with the Premium package.

Even if you only look at the SuperSport channels, though, it is evident that DStv’s pricing is very competitive or more affordable than subscribing to a range of individual sports streaming services and add-ons.

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