DStv satellite subscribers to pay more from April

MultiChoice Group will again hike prices at below the rate of consumer inflation for its satellite subscription services this year, while keeping the price of its streaming packages unchanged.

At an average increase of 4.3% from 1 April, MultiChoice said the adjustments are “far lower than projected consumer price inflation for 2023”.

From 1 April, DStv satellite subscribers will pay:

• R40/month more for DStv Premium, an increase of 4.77%;
• R30/month more for Compact Plus, or 5.46% up;
• R20/month more for DStv Compact, or 4.66% up;
• R10/month more for DStv Family, for an increase of 3.24%;
• R9/month more for DStv Access, MultiChoice’s cheapest satellite option, for a 7.5% increase; and
• Add Movies has decreased by 20%, giving customers a saving of R20. All streaming-only services will not be increasing their subscription fees.

The price adjustments mean that a DStv Premium subscriber with both satellite and streaming will pay a base price of R879/month (excluding an “Access” fee), while streaming-only Premium customers will pay R699/month, meaning the satellite and streaming option is now more than 25% more expensive than the streaming-only plan. This difference may be enough to tempt more households with fibre to switch from satellite to the streaming-only version of DStv.

“These nominal adjustments help DStv to ensure that South Africans continue to enjoy the best value, and unrivalled access to entertainment, anywhere, anytime, and at the most affordable price. Moreover, all streaming-only services will not be increasing their subscription fees,” MultiChoice said in a statement.

“The challenges and financial strain that South African consumers have had to face were considered and once again DStv absorbed as much of the increase of the cost of doing business as possible in order to implement minimal adjustments.”

MultiChoice Group chief operating officer Simon Camerer told TechCentral in an interview that the decision to keep streaming prices unchanged – including for the company’s “dishless” DStv service – is because it wants this side of the business, which is relatively new, to gain as much traction as possible.

Camerer said that where MultiChoice has increased its prices, it’s been able to keep these increases below consumer inflation through “ongoing cost-control programmes”. This includes working with suppliers of everything from content to decoder components to ensure their upstream costs are kept in check, too. “We are always looking for ways to contain costs as best we can,” he said.

The company has also worked hard to convert all supply agreements into rand instead of hard currencies such as the US dollar. “There are still a few outstanding agreements in dollars, but not that many.”

Read: Canal+ takes its stake in MultiChoice beyond 30%

In its statement about the increases, MultiChoice said it took into consideration the fact the consumers are under significant pressure due to the remnants of the Covid-19 pandemic and continued nationwide load shedding.

DStv Premium subscribers, it said, will continue to get Showmax for free, while Compact, Compact Plus, Family and Access subscribers will get Showmax at a 50% discount.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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