DStv sport is unbeatable
When it comes to live sports coverage, DStv Stream Premium offers unrivalled value for money among local and international video streaming services, a comparison by MyBroadband shows.
DStv’s top-end streaming-only plan is currently priced at R799 per month, R130 cheaper than its regular satellite package.
It also offers a reduced R699 price on the subscription, provided the customer is willing to sign up for a 12-month contract.
South Africans are quick to complain about the high price of DStv Premium compared to other prominent online video streaming services in the country.
However, DStv’s major streaming competitors, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV+, currently do not offer live sports streaming in South Africa.
Sports broadcasting and streaming rights are expensive and make up a sizeable part of DStv parent MultiChoice’s operating costs.
Among the big tournaments and events for which DStv has consistently secured broadcasting and streaming rights over the past few years:
- All Springbok rugby test matches
- All Rugby Championship, United Rugby Championship (URC), and Currie Cup matches
- All Rugby World Cup and World Rugby Sevens tournaments
- All Protea tests, ODIs, and T20 cricket matches
- All Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Championship, and Fifa World Cup football matches
- All Indian Premier League (IPL) and World Cup cricket matches
- The British Open, The US open, The Masters, PGA Tour, The Ryder Cup, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Tour de France and Giro d’Italia
- All Formula 1 and MotoGP races
- All Grand Slam tennis tournaments
- All major boxing and UFC events
When looking at international sports streaming services, none offer the selection of high-profile events and tournaments that DStv does.
Many are focused solely on one or just a handful of sports.
These include services like ATP Tennis TV, DAZN, F1 TV, and FloRugby.
While substantially cheaper individually, if they had to be bundled to offer anywhere near the same sports selection as DStv, they would cost significantly more than the South African service.
The international sports streaming service that offers the most live sports is a Now TV Sports bundle in Ireland consisting of Sky Sports, Premier Sports, and TNT Sports.
It is currently priced at just €33 (R632) per month, comparable to DStv Stream Premium’s 12-month contract option and cheaper than the month-to-month DStv Stream package.
However, that price is only available for the first year, after which it goes up to €72.98 (R1,393).
Even with its substantial live sports catalogue, it does not stream many South African-specific sports tournaments — like the Currie Cup.
The next two best options are Now TV’s UK-based service and the Sky Sports Now plan in New Zealand.
Now TV boasts 12 Sky Sports channels, which include live coverage of major cricket, football, golf, tennis, and motorsport.
It is priced at £34.99 (R801) per month, about the same as DStv Stream Premium month-to-month.
The Sky Sports Now packages, priced at NZ$49.99 (R530) per month, boasts 13 Sky Sports channels and two ESPN channels that are also available on DStv.
Both Now TV in the UK and Sky Sports Now in New Zealand lack certain sports tournaments or events that are popular among South African viewers.
For rugby fans, there are no URC, Investec Champions Cup, or Currie Cup matches.
They also don’t offer live La Liga matches, while high-profile boxing and mixed martial arts events are only available at an extra cost through pay-per-view subscriptions.
Additional requirements for services not officially available in South Africa
Another factor to consider is that accessing many of these international streaming services from South Africa is a form of copyright infringement.
Besides the additional cost and administrative burden of using a virtual private network (VPN) to access them from South Africa, it is also unlawful.
That is why certain services — like Disney+ and Prime Video — block the use of VPNs on their platforms.
In addition, users may require a payment method and cellphone number based in the country from where the service operates, which can be extremely difficult to obtain.
The table below compares DStv Stream Premium with major international sports streaming services.
| Service | High-profile content | Additional requirements | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disney+ Hotstar Premium (India) | – Cricket – Field hockey – Kabaddi – Mixed martial arts – Includes Extra non-sport content: Disney+ movies and TV shows | – VPN connected to Indian server – India-based payment method – Indian cellphone number for sign-up and login verification – Indian address | Rs299 / R63 (month-to-month) |
| SonyLIV Premium (India) | – Cricket – Soccer – Tennis – Wrestling Extra non-sport content: SonyLIV Premium movies and TV shows | – VPN connected to Indian server – India-based payment method – Indian cellphone number for sign-up and login verification – Indian address | Rs 299 / R63 (month-to-month) |
| F1 TV Pro (South Africa) | Formula 1 only | None | $5.99 / R106 (month-to-month) |
| DAZN Premium (South Africa) | – Boxing – Chess – Esports – Mixed martial arts – Powerboat racing – Snooker – Women’s football | None | R149.99 (month-to-month) |
| ESPN+ (United States) | Primarily American sports, including baseball, ice, US football college leagues | – VPN connected to US server | $10.99 / R194 (month-to-month) |
| ATP Tennis TV (South Africa) | Grand slam tennis tournaments | None | $11.25 / R199 (annual prepaid) $16.99 / R300 (month-to-month) |
| Stan Sport (Australia) | – UEFA Football – Motorsport excluding Formula 1 – Rugby – Tennis | – VPN connected to Australian server | AU$27 / R316 (month-to-month) |
| Sky Sport Now (New Zealand) | 13 Sky Sport and two ESPN channels, covering: – American sports – Cricket – Football – Golf – Motorsport – Rugby – Tennis | – VPN connected to NZ server – NZ-based payment method – NZ address | NZ$49.99 / R530 (month-to-month) NZ$41.67 / R487 (12-month contract) |
| FloRugby (North America) | Rugby only, includes: – EPCR Challenge Cup – URC – Rugby Championship – Top 14 | – VPN connected to US server | $29.99 / R530 (month-to-month) |
| DStv Stream Premium (South Africa) | 20 SuperSport and two ESPN channels, covering: – American sports – Boxing – Cricket – Football – Golf – Mixed martial arts – Motorsport – Rugby – Tennis – South African school sports – Varsity tournaments – All locally-relevent high-profile content Extra non-sport content: Showmax subscription and all DStv Premium entertainment and news channels | None | R699 (12-month contract) R799 (month-to-month) |
| Now TV (United Kingdom) | 12 Sky Sport and two ESPN channels, covering: – American sports – Cricket – Football – Golf – Motorsport – Rugby – Tennis | – VPN connected to UK server – UK-based payment method – UK address | £34.99 / R801 (month-to-month) |
| Sky Sports, Premier Sports, and TNT Sports bundle (Ireland) | 18 sports channels, covering: – American sports – Cricket – Football – Golf – Motorsport – Rugby – Tennis | – VPN connected to Ireland server – Ireland-based payment method – Ireland address | €30 (R573) for first 12 months €72.98 (R1,393) thereafter |
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