What you will pay for DStv in 2019

MultiChoice announced earlier this week that it will not hike the price of DStv Premium in 2019 as consumers feel the pinch of the weak economy and streaming alternatives like Netflix emerge to challenge the company.

The pay-television broadcaster, which will list on the JSE later this month, has now revealed all the price adjustments to its DStv bouquets, which will take effect on 1 April 2019.

While DStv Premium subscription fees will remain unchanged at R809/month (excluding value-added service fees), some of the more basic options will see small increases this year.

The full details are as follows:

• DStv Premium will remain unchanged at R809/month;
• DStv Compact Plus will rise from R509 to R519/month, an increase of 2%;
• DStv Compact will rise from R385 to R399/month, an increase of 3.6%;
• DStv Family will rise from R249 to R265/month, an increase of 2.8%;
• DStv Access will rise from R99 to R105/month, an increase of 6.1%; and
• DStv EasyView will remain unchanged at R29/month.

MultiChoice traditionally hikes its prices on 1 April each year but elected to keep the fees for its top-end bouquet unchanged this year.

MultiChoice South Africa CEO Calvo Mawela told TechCentral in an interview in October 2018 that he is confident the company can arrest the decline in the number of lucrative DStv Premium bouquet customers on its books. He said at the time that rate of decline was already falling — from roughly 100 000 disconnections in the 2017 financial year to about 40 000 in 2018.

“We understand that times are tough in South Africa, and that our customers are under pressure to make every cent they spend count. As such, we’re keeping DStv as affordable and accessible as possible to as many households as we can, to ensure they can enjoy great entertainment for their families,” MultiChoice said in a statement earlier this week.

MultiChoice is facing growing pressure at the premium end of the market, with consumers opting for online streaming services from international rivals such as Netflix.  — © 2019 NewsCentral Media