Good news about DStv streaming limit
MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said limiting DStv streaming to one device is working well, but they have plans to allow more simultaneous streams per household.
On 22 March 2022, MultiChoice started to limit DStv subscribers to live streaming on one device at a time.
The streaming limit applies to all DStv packages, and subscribers may still watch pre-downloaded content while someone else is streaming.
There was a significant backlash from DStv subscribers following the announcement, with some threatening to boycott MultiChoice.
Many DStv subscribers said it limits their family from enjoying different content at the same time, which is why they purchased the product.
Commenting on the streaming limit, Mawela said it had to be implemented to fight piracy.
“We have taken a decision to limit concurrent streaming because we see how people are sharing account details and even selling passwords for DStv streaming,” he said.
“It is unfair to content creators who invest a lot of money to create content.”
Mawela said they had seen an uptick in DStv streaming subscriptions following their decision to limit concurrent streaming.
MultiChoice’s latest results revealed that, while DStv struggled to gain subscribers, Connected Video users on the DStv app and Showmax showed strong growth.
Paying Showmax subscribers increased by 68% over the last year, while monthly online users increased by 28% overall.
“It supports the view that we have made the correct decision to limit concurrent streaming because people were abusing the system.”
It should be noted that DStv’s concurrent streaming limit does not apply to Showmax, which still allows two simultaneous streams.
The MultiChoice CEO added that they are looking at options to allow concurrent streams in one household.
“We should be able to get a solution on that to deploy,” Mawela said. He did not supply a time frame as to when people could expect the solution.
“In the meantime, we did not want this to be an ongoing problem, and we responded responsibly by limiting streaming to one device,” he said.
Loading ...