Smile TV describes itself as a top movie streaming site and live sports events app with the “best streaming experience for South African users, live or on-demand.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service offers both live TV channels, including many of DStv’s sport and entertainment channels, and on-demand<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the holiday, we also heard from some South Africans with high praise for a service called Afro TV. After looking into these two services, we discovered several striking similarities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Similar website structures and section navigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Same names and features for four subscription plans \u2014 Premium Monthly, Standard Monthly, Standard 6-Month, Standard Yearly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Identical text used in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) sections, with only the names of platforms different<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Same methods for downloading and sideloading apps to devices<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Both use WhatsApp Business support channels with bots on US-based numbers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Both have human-run WhatsApp support channels with Thai-based numbers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Both offer reseller programmes, a common method used by illegal IPTV services to attract customers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The most affordable option on both services is called Standard Monthly and provides access to one stream on a TV and one mobile stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afro TV’s pricing is in US dollars and starts at $8 per month for the Standard Monthly plan, while Smile TV offers rand-based pricing starting at R150 per month for a plan with the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We asked the WhatsApp support channels of both platforms to confirm whether they offered DStv channels and had any agreements that allowed this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We initially received responses from bots that denied this was the case. However, after asking human agents on alternative numbers supplied by the bots, they confirmed that DStv channels were available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chat agents did not respond to questions asking whether the products were legal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, DStv does not redistribute its live channels through any third parties; they are available exclusively through its own satellite and streaming products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netflix generally also does not license its movies and series to third parties, apart from rare exceptions where it makes some of its popular Originals content available on major entertainment services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More red flags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Afro-TV-new.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Smilte-TV-packages.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnother red flag is that neither service’s app is available through widely recognised app stores with proper cybersecurity vetting, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All legitimate video streaming services that are officially available in South Africa are supported on these platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Domain registration lookups also showed that both of the service’s domains were registered through Namecheap and use its Withheld for Privacy service to mask the registration details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The masking service has previously faced criticism for helping to conceal the identities of online fraudsters, including fake online stores claiming to sell Starlink kits and accessories in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meta Platforms previously sued Namecheap after it registered 45 domain names that impersonated Facebook and other Meta services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also one of the domain registrars that the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information was ordered to block due to cybersquatting and non-compliance with India’s Information Technology Rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Withheld for Privacy often uses the address of the Icelandic Phallogical Museum at 2 Kalkofnsvegur, 101 Reykjavik, as a front for users’ real addresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dangers abound with pirate IPTV services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Piracy-making-a-comeback.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMyBroadband asked MultiChoice and Netflix about the illegal IPTV services, but did not receive feedback by the time of publication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from reducing the income of legitimate content producers and artists and breaking copyright law in South Africa, there are numerous risks involved with using illegal IPTV services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, it is important to note that individuals subscribing to such services are potentially sharing card details with criminals, who may be inclined to abuse their private information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Illegal IPTV service operators have also often been found to engage in more serious crimes, including organised drug and weapons trafficking syndicates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, the software and devices on which the services run can be infected with malware, allowing the operators to spy on and infiltrate your home network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This access could be used to steal or otherwise compromise sensitive personal or financial information, or infect devices with ransomware and attempt to extort money from the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another risk is that law enforcement can apprehend the operators and shut down the service, leaving subscribers without access to a product they paid for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That could be especially damaging for those who paid for a longer-term product like a six-month or annual plan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two new illegal IPTV services have recently emerged in South Africa and are gaining traction for providing cheaper access to many of DStv’s most popular channels, as well as Netflix content. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":624917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[102860,85,76186,100223,98865,475,63096,2054,102859,3516,62312,102862,100213],"class_list":["post-624887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","category-internet","tag-afro-tv","tag-dstv","tag-dstv-channels","tag-illegal-iptv","tag-iptv-services","tag-multichoice","tag-namecheap","tag-netflix","tag-smile-tv","tag-supersport","tag-video-streaming-services","tag-whoisguard","tag-withheld-for-privacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624887"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":624990,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624887\/revisions\/624990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}