DStv versus Openview — price and channel comparison
eMedia recently announced that it would be removing its E-tv News and Sports channel from the Openview platform, according to a Netwerk24 report.
The announcement came after the broadcaster fired 37 full-time staff members and 23 contract workers on Monday, 28 February 2022.
With Openview losing its news channel, it falls further behind DStv EasyView when it comes to the number of news and commerce channels offered on the service.
Comparing the channels available on the two services, Openview has 21 TV and 28 radio channels, while DStv EasyView offers 34 TV and 95 radio channels.
Based on the channel ranges of each platform, Openview focuses on movie and entertainment channels, and EasyView caters more for those who want to keep up-to-date with news and current affairs.
Openview customers only pay the initial installation costs for the service, and after that, there are no monthly fees.
However, DStv EasyView’s R29 monthly fee is cheap enough that Openview is often considered a direct competitor.
In terms of installation costs, Openview customers will pay R1,499 to install the decoder and satellite dish, while DStv charges R499 to install the equipment required to use EasyView.
While there is a R1,000 difference in installation costs, Openview customers will make up the difference in just under three years as they do not have to pay subscription fees.
Because DStv does not report subscriber numbers specifically for its EasyView package, and OpenView focuses on “Homes Connected”, it is not clear which service has the most customers.
As of March 2021, Openview said it had connected 2.3 million homes in South Africa, up from 2 million in May 2020.
A comparison of Openview’s and DStv EasyView’s pricing and content is provided in the table below.
| DStv EasyView | Openview | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Once-off installation fee | R499 (decoder, dish, installation) | R1,499 (decoder, dish, installation) | ||
| Monthly fee | R29 | R0 | ||
| Channel category | # | DStv channels | # | Openview channels |
| Movies & Entertainment | 3 | TNT Africa, Real Time, e.TV Extra | 7 | eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra, eRewind, eReality, Star Life |
| Documentaries & Lifestyle | 1 | People’s Weather | 1 | People’s Weather |
| Free Channels | 11 | SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3, e.TV, Soweto TV, Bay TV, 1 KZN, Tshwane TV, Cape Town TV, GauTV, Lesotho TV | 4 | SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3, e.TV |
| Sports | 1 | SuperSport Blitz | 1 | SABC Sport |
| Kids & Teen | 3 | JimJam, eToonz, Mindset | 3 | DBE TV, eToonz, Mindset |
| Music | 1 | Mzansi Music | 2 | SA Music, Soul Music |
| Religion | 5 | FAITH, Day Star, TBN Africa, iTV Networks, Emmanuel TV | 0 | |
| News & Commerce | 7 | SABC News, Newzroom Afrika, Al Jazeera, Parliamentary Service, CGTN News, CNBC Africa, Business Day TV | 1 | France 24 |
| Specialist & Foreign | 1 | CCTV 4 | 1 | Zee One |
| Audio channels | 95 | … | 28 | … |
Now read: South Africa is switching off analogue TV — final date announced
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