DStv cuts prices for streaming without a decoder

People have threatened to boycott DStv over its new one-device-at-a-time streaming policy. File picture

People have threatened to boycott DStv over its new one-device-at-a-time streaming policy. File picture

Published Oct 4, 2022

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DStv launched its stand-alone streaming service at the end of 2020, allowing new subscribers to get around decoder and dish installation costs.

This does require that you have a good enough internet connection to make the most of the streaming service, but home internet access and connection quality have risen after lockdowns and the trend towards remote work.

These streaming services have until now been priced identically to DStv’s satellite packages. In late 2021 MultiChoice offered a promotion on the streaming version of DStv Premium, discounting the price from R829 to R699.

With the new set of price changes, this discount has become permanent and its other streaming packages have all seen a reduction in cost compared with their satellite versions.

Prices were reduced 14% on average, which means a drop of R80 for DStv Compact Plus (now sitting at R469 per month) down to a drop of R21 for its cheapest package, DStv Access (which would now cost you R99 per month).

These changes come as MultiChoice faces stiff competition in the streaming space from international giants who have the scale to offer high-quality on-demand content from around the world for lower costs.

For comparison, a Netflix Standard account will cost you R159 per month, and Premium R199 per month.

These Netflix plans also allow you to stream to a maximum of two or four devices at the same time, while all DStv packages had their simultaneous streaming limit lowered from two devices down to only one device in March this year.

IOL Tech