DStv vs Openview — installation and hardware price comparison
South Africans who opt for Openview over DStv’s cheapest package will start saving money after two years and four months, a MyBroadband analysis has revealed.
If you compare DStv Access rather than DStv EasyView, Openview starts saving you money after only four months.
MultiChoice announced price increases for its pay-TV service DStv in February, which will see prices hiked by up to 7.5%, while Openview is free-to-view after customers install a dish and decoder.
MyBroadband compared the cost of buying and installing an Openview decoder to the price of doing the same with DStv and paying the monthly fee for its EasyView package.
We also included a comparison for DStv Access for reference. However, it should be noted that the Access package offers a significantly broader range of channels than Openview.
DStv’s price hikes go live on 1 April 2023, and while the EasyView package’s fees will remain unchanged, the Access package will increase from R99 to R129 per month.
The cost of installing DStv’s cheapest decoder and paying the monthly EasyView fee will exceed that of Openview’s R1,499 once-off price after 28 months.
On the other hand, the Access package fees will surpass the cost of Openview in the seventh month of paying the subscription.
The analysis is summarised in the chart below.
Regarding channel offerings, Openview’s catalogue features 20 channels, while DStv’s EasyView package has 31.
DStv Access has a far broader library of 62 channels.
DStv EasyView offers one more channel under the entertainment, culture, and lifestyle category than Openview, while Access customers get 18 more.
DStv’s Access package also offers a wider selection of sports channels, although it is still somewhat limited. Its subscribers can watch SuperSport Blitz, SuperSport Football Africa, SuperSport Variety 4, and TellyTrack.
On the other hand, DStv EasyView customers only get SuperSport Blitz, while Openview viewers can only watch SABC Sport.
DStv price hikes
DStv’s packages will increase by an average of 4.3% from 1 April, with DStv Access getting the biggest hike at 7.5%.
The broadcaster said pricing for its streaming-only packages would remain unchanged.
“[The price adjustment] is far lower than the projected CPI for 2023,” MultiChoice said
The monthly fee for DStv Premium, Compact Plus, and Compact will increase by R40, R30, and R20, respectively, while the Family and Access packages will cost subscribers R10 and R9 more per month.
The Access Fee for features like DStv Catch Up and PVR will also increase by R5 per month.
The table below compares Openview, DStv EasyView, and DStv Access. Channel information was sourced directly from the broadcasters’ websites.
| Component | Openview HD | DStv EasyView | DStv Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | Free | R29 | R99 |
| Installation cost | R1,499 (HD decoder) | R699 (HD decoder) | R699 (HD decoder) |
| Entertainment, Culture, and Lifestyle | SABC 1 | BBC UKTV | M-Net Movies 4 |
| SABC 2 | SABC 1 | Switche’d On | |
| SABC 3 | SABC 2 | Telemundo | |
| e.TV | SABC 3 | CBS Reality | |
| e.TV Extra | e.TV | BBC UKTV | |
| eMovies | e.TV Extra | TLC Entertainment | |
| eMovies Extra | TNT Africa | TNT Africa | |
| eReality | Real Time | eMovies | |
| eXposed | Soweto TV | eMovies Extra | |
| Starlife | Bay TV | kykNet Lekker | |
| ZeeOne | 1 KZN | AfricaMagic Epic | |
| ePlesier | Tshwane TV | Real Time | |
| The Home Channel+ | Lesotho TV | Moja 9.9 | |
| Power Up | Cape Town TV | Mzansi Wethu | |
| GauTV | Mzansi Bioskop | ||
| e.TV Extra | |||
| Big Brother Mzansi | |||
| Honey | |||
| The Home Channel | |||
| Nat Geo Wild | |||
| Spice TV | |||
| SABC 1 | |||
| SABC 2 | |||
| SABC 3 | |||
| e.TV | |||
| Soweto TV | |||
| Bay TV | |||
| 1 KZN | |||
| Tshwane TV | |||
| Cape Town TV | |||
| GauTV | |||
| Lesotho TV | |||
| NTA i | |||
| Children and Education | eToonz | JimJam | Cartoon Network |
| Mindset | EToonz | Boomerang | |
| DBE TV | Mindset | NickTOONS | |
| Disney Junior | |||
| JimJam | |||
| eToonz | |||
| PBS Kids | |||
| Da Vinci | |||
| Mindset | |||
| Religion | – | FAITH | Dumisa |
| Day Star | FAITH | ||
| TBN Africa | Day Star | ||
| Emmanuel TV | TBN Africa | ||
| Emmanuel TV | |||
| Sport | SABC Sport | SuperSport Blitz | SuperSport Blitz |
| SuperSport Football Africa | |||
| SuperSport Variety 4 | |||
| TellyTrack | |||
| News, Commerce and Specialised | France24 | SABC News | BBC World News |
| SA Music | Newzroom Afrika | SABC News | |
| Al Jazeera | Newzroom Afrika | ||
| Parliamentary service | Al Jazeera | ||
| CGTN News | Parliamentary Service | ||
| CNBC Africa | CGTN News | ||
| Business Day TV | CNBC Africa | ||
| People’s Weather | Business Day TV | ||
| NDTV 24×7 | |||
| africanews | |||
| People’s Weather | |||
| Audio channels | 28 radio stations | 95 audio channels | 95 audio channels |
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