While MultiChoice said subscriber losses in the Rest of Africa were primarily to blame for the overall losses, DStv continues to bleed subscribers in South Africa.<\/p>\n
DStv splits active subscribers into three segments, with each representing a different set of DStv subscriptions as follows:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Mass Market\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 DStv Family, Access, and EasyView subscribers<\/li>\n
- Mid-Market\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 DStv Compact and Commercial subscribers<\/li>\n
- Premium\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 DStv Premium and Compact Plus subscribers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Combined, the three segments lost roughly 700,000 subscribers in South Africa, with the mid-market segment seeing the most significant decline.<\/p>\n
DStv Compact and Commercial subscribers in South Africa declined by approximately 400,000 between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.<\/p>\n
The segment had grown from 2.8 million subscribers in 2018 to 3.1 million in 2021, after which it has only seen declines.<\/p>\n
The Mass Market segment showed strong growth from 2018 to 2023 before recording its first subscriber decline during the 2023\/24 financial year.<\/p>\n
Combined, DStv Family, Access, and EasyView subscribers sat at 2.5 million in 2018. Between 2018 and 2020, it overtook the mid-market segment, growing to 3.1 million subscribers.<\/p>\n
The strong growth continued until the Mass Market segment reached 5.3 million subscribers in 2023. The figure dropped to 5.1 million for the 2023\/24 financial year.<\/p>\n
DStv’s Premium segment has only seen subscriber declines since 2018, with some periods when subscriber numbers remained stable.<\/p>\n
DStv had 1.6 million Compact Plus and Premium subscribers in 2018 but has lost roughly 400,000 over the past six years.<\/p>\n
The segment lost roughly 100,000 subscribers in South Africa between 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n
It lost a further 100,000 subscribers between 2021 and 2022 after remaining at 1.5 million South African users in 2020.<\/p>\n
DStv’s premium segment lost approximately 100,000 South African subscribers between 2022 and 2023 and again between 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n
The chart below tracks DStv’s active subscriber losses across its mass-market, mid-market, and premium segments from 2018 to 2024.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/South-Africans-cutting-DStv-Cord-final.jpg\")
\nOver the same period between 2018 and 2024, MultiChoice has hiked DStv prices by an average of 21% across all of its packages.<\/p>\nInterestingly, DStv’s most expensive package \u2014 Premium \u2014 has seen the lowest proportional price increase over the period at roughly 15%.<\/p>\n
DStv Access customers have been the hardest hit, with prices increasing a whopping 40.4% from R99 in 2018 to R139 in 2024.<\/p>\n
The only package that hasn’t been hit with any price hikes over the period is DStv EasyView, which has remained at R29 per month.<\/p>\n
Many South Africans, frustrated with the constant price hikes and repeats on MultiChoice’s satellite TV packages, have said they only keep their DStv Premium subscription for the unmatched sports offering.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice owns SuperSport, which has the rights to broadcast a wide range of sports events, including rugby, soccer, cricket, and motorsport, leaving limited other options for South African sports fans.<\/p>\n
However, Canal+ Group Chair and CEO Maxime Saada said DStv will not start offering a sports-only package<\/a> once under his company’s ownership.<\/p>\n
For context, Canal+ has made a bid to buy the company outright for R125 per share after triggering the mandatory offer clause in the Companies Act when it exceeded 35% shareholding at the start of the year.<\/p>\n
Canal+ had been gradually buying up MultiChoice shares, increasing its ownership in the local broadcaster after its creeping takeover of MultiChoice began in 2020.<\/p>\n
- Mid-Market\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 DStv Compact and Commercial subscribers<\/li>\n