DStv subscription fees to increase again

In other African countries, such as Kenya, Zambia, Uganda or Ghana, MultiChoice has lowered DStv fees over the last few months.

The company said in a statement: “We recognise that our customers are living in tough economic times, and want to reward them for their on-going loyalty and support. We want to do our part by adjusting the price of our DStv packages through making them more affordable while adding more value at the same time.”

Meanwhile, in South Africa, where the largest DStv subscriber base is located, we’ve seen year after year of price hikes. What about us, MultiChoice? Where’s our incentive to continue using your service?

So, we can expect yet another price hike in April 2018. When asked about this latest act of exploitation, MultiChoice copy/pasted their response from last year.

“We’re committed to keep improving our offering so it gets better every year.”

DStv To Twist The Dagger

So, how much is South Africa set to suffer come April? Thanks to the stronger Rand, MultiChoice will be keeping their annual fee increase below inflation, so at least there’s that.

Top-end bouquet, DStv Premium, will increase by 2.5% from R789/month to R809/month.

Mid-tier bouquets are set to see bigger increases.  DStv Compact Plus will see a hike of 4.1% from R489 to R509/month. DStv Compact will be going up by 5.5% to from R365/month to R385/month.

Bottom-rung DStv Family will be hit the hardest. The bouquet will increase by 6%, rising from R235/month to R249/month. Family friendly.

Customers on the DStv Select bouquet will also see a 6% increase from R235/month to R249/month. M-Net analogue customers, all three of the poor souls, will have to cough up an extra 5.1%. From a ridiculous R389/month to an even-more-ridiculous R409/month.

DStv Access and EasyView remain unchanged at R99 and R29/month, respectively.

The PVR access fee add-on will also increase from R85 to R90/month.

Well, it could have been much worse, had the Rand been any weaker. MultiChoice customers may remember that last year’s price hike was a lot more significant. It still begs the question, though – what are we paying for? What are we getting from MultiChoice that we cannot get anywhere else?

In Nigeria, at least, it seems as if the service has pretty much come to an end. Who will be next?

Competitors such as Netflix, Amazon or Hulu offer viewers so much more for so much less. How long can MultiChoice keep this up?

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