DStv’s secret YouTube giant
MultiChoice has released its annual integrated report for the 2024/25 financial year, reporting that the SuperSport YouTube channel has grown to 4.82 million subscribers.
Since its launch in 2013, the YouTube channel has accumulated 1.1 billion views, and SuperSport says it has undergone several changes in the 12 years since its inception.
“SuperSport’s digital and social media department made a significant imprint during the financial year,” MultiChoice said in the report.
“The launch of various YouTube-first digital content offerings such as SuperSport Unplugged and digital build-up has grown SuperSport’s following and engagement across various platforms.”
The channel has gained 756,000 subscribers over the past two years and posted 16.1 million hours of content.
MultiChoice told MyBroadband that the channel recently pivoted from posting match footage to posting more engaging content.
“With at least 2.7 million monthly active users on the platform, SuperSport has leaned into the trends to carve out a lane for both avid and non-avid sports fans,” it said.
“The platform has given SuperSport the opportunity to talk to an audience that traditionally sits outside of its universe while still maintaining a captive sports-loving audience.”
MultiChoice also reported that SuperSport Unplugged, the channel’s dedicated Vodcast, drew nearly one million YouTube views.
“SuperSport Unplugged has been the podcast vehicle on the platform, while short features and 15-20 minute fan-focused pieces have replaced match highlights,” it added.
The broadcaster said SuperSport Unplugged has accumulated 18 million views across Meta’s platforms, X, TikTok, and YouTube.
“SuperSport Unplugged also generated 318.4 million total impressions across these platforms,” it added.
The company says YouTube Shorts have allowed SuperSport to share short match moments with audiences that still want hard sports content.
Two of its short-form videos were among the channel’s top 10 in 2024, and in 2025, seven of the channel’s top 10 videos were YouTube Shorts.
“Shorts alone have brought in 35,000 subscribers with 16.5 million views in the past year,” MultiChoice said.
The broadcaster said the live-streaming of pre-match shows has significantly driven the channel’s growth. It started live-streaming the shows during the Betway SA20 competition and the Soweto Derbies.
“It’s a newer lane of content, but at least 1.3 million views have been garnered from live streams in the last year,” MultiChoice said.
It said the pre-match show ahead of the Springbok match against the Barbarians on Saturday, 28 June 2025, attracted 200 thousand viewers.
Regarding the channel’s audience, MultiChoice said 54% of viewers are aged between 18 and 44 years old, and it has a strong presence in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
“SuperSport sees the channel as complementary to its primary services and a shopfront for potential customers who may be considering a DStv or Showmax subscription,” the broadcaster stated.
Over 47,000 hours of live sports in a year
MultiChoice-owned SuperSport aired more than 47,000 hours of live sports coverage between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, representing a 7% increase over the previous financial year.
The sports broadcaster attributed the increase to three senior men’s and one women’s major ICC cricket tournaments, the Summer Olympics, the men’s Euro 2024 football tournament, and 13 Springbok tests.
SuperSport previously said its coverage of the Olympic Games in Paris was unmatched, covering 1,200 live events over 2,900 live broadcast hours across 19 days.
The broadcaster said it maintained strong football viewership by making La Liga available on more affordable packages and by offering additional UEFA Champions League games.
SuperSport also said the Soweto Derby in February 2025 was the most-watched derby during the 2024/25 financial year.
It also observed significant growth in rugby viewership during the reporting period, with a 23% and 29% viewership increase for the United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup tournaments, respectively.
SuperSport owns 30% of the Betway20 T20 cricket tournament, which it hailed as a major success, considering local viewership grew by 47% year over year.
The broadcaster aired 799 hours of the competition across seven dedicated channels, and Nielsen Sports SA said more than 1.3 million South African viewers tuned in throughout the season.
Regarding combat sports, South African UFC champion Dricus du Plessis’s second world title fight against Sean Strickland broke the SuperSport viewership record for an MMA event.
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