DStv EasyView versus Openview — channels and pricing compared
Openview recently increased its hardware pricing from R1,499 to R1,699 for a complete installation, while DStv’s decoder, dish, and installation bundle has remained at R499.
However, once the installation is complete, Openview customers pay no additional fees, while DStv’s EasyView package has a monthly subscription of R29.
Therefore, Openview customers will make up the R1,200 difference in just under three and a half years.
In May 2022, the eMedia-owned Openview announced it would add The Home Channel + to its catalogue, bringing its documentary and lifestyle channel offerings to two — one more than what’s available on DStv’s EasyView package.
A month earlier, it added the Afrikaans-dubbed Turkish telenovela channel ePlesier, giving it a further advantage over DStv EasyView’s movies and entertainment category, which only features TNT Africa and Real Time.
ePlesier brought Openview’s movies and entertainment catalogue back to seven channels after it dropped eRewind.
DStv has been on a channel cutting spree in 2022, dropping eight and only adding two. On the other hand, Openview has added three channels while dropping two over the same period.
The MultiChoice-owned DStv dropped four eMedia channels on 1 July, iTV in June, LifeTime in May, and Russia Today in March. It plans to cut FliekNET on 15 July.
eMedia contested DStv’s decision to cut four of its channels at the Competition Tribunal in April.
MultiChoice had renewed its channel supply agreement for E-tv and eNCA, but refused to include eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra, and eToonz.
eMedia claimed DStv’s decision was in contravention of Section 8 of the Competition Act, adding that it would lose as much as 19% of its advertising revenue should MultiChoice be allowed to proceed with the cuts.
However, the Competition Tribunal ruled against eMedia’s plea to keep its channels on DStv.
DStv’s EasyView package still trumps Openview’s channel list regarding free-to-air channels and news programming. It features 11 free channels and seven news and commerce channels.
On the other hand, Openview has four free-to-air channels — SABC 1, 2, 3, and E-tv — and only one news and commerce channel.
Regarding programming aimed at kids and teens, Openview’s catalogue beats DStv EasyView’s by one channel. This is primarily due to DStv dropping eMedia’s four channels, including eToonz, on 1 July 2022.
Both packages offer the Mindset channel.
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) | R1,699 (decoder, dish, installation) | ||
| Monthly fee | R29 | R0 | ||
| Channel category | # | DStv channels | # | Openview channels |
| Movies & Entertainment | 2 | TNT Africa, Real Time | 7 | eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra, eXposed, eReality, ePlesier, Star Life |
| Documentaries & Lifestyle | 1 | People’s Weather | 2 | People’s Weather, The Home Channel + |
| 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 | 2 | JimJam, Mindset | 3 | DBE TV, eToonz, Mindset |
| Music | 1 | Mzansi Music | 1 | SA Music |
| Religion | 4 | FAITH, Day Star, TBN Africa, 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 |
| Total TV Channels | 30 | 20 | ||
| Total additions / cuts in 2022 | 2 / 8 | 3 / 2 | ||
| Audio channels | 95 | … | 28 | … |
Now read: French media giant increases stake in DStv-owner MultiChoice
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