DStv price increases announced

MultiChoice has unveiled its new DStv prices which will kick in on 1 April 2021, which include price increases on most products.

MultiChoice COO Simon Camerer said while they are increasing prices across the board, they have been able to keep them in check.

“On a weighted average basis, we are looking at about a 2.4% increase across the base,” said Camerer.

He said they have tried to keep it under inflation, which they have done for the last number of years.

“We still have to pay most of our content costs in dollars and we have to try and manage the exchange rate as best we can,” he said.

Commenting on DStv Premium pricing, Camerer said they considered input costs into the business and the content they need to source to satisfy the costs for their premium customers.

“In light of a torrid year, to have kept it on average well below CPI for the coming year is an achievement,” he said.

“We have worked hard to provide a lot of incremental value to our premium customers. We’ve worked hard to add lots more value and managed to keep prices well below CPI.”

The price increases come shortly after MultiChoice said providers like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Now, and Peacock pose an existential competitive threat to its DStv offering.

These streaming services provide a more affordable offering to consumers and have already had an impact on MultiChoice’s DStv Premium numbers.

MultiChoice highlighted that it has seen a sharp decline in premium subscriptions, which shows the impact of streaming services on its business.

New DStv prices

DStv Premium pricing will increase from R819 per month to R829 per month, while the Access Fee will increase to R105 per month.

DStv users must pay the R105 Access Fee when they link decoders in XtraView or use a PVR.

DStv Compact Plus, Compact, Family, and Access users will also pay more from 1 April.

The price to rent a BoxOffice movie will increase to R40, up from the previous R35.

The table below provides an overview of the new DStv prices which kick in on 1 April 2021.

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