Multichoice, the parent company for the largest pay TV service in Africa, DStv, recently announced that it will be cracking down on illegal DStv operations in Malawi that are providing illegal DStv South Africa accounts in the country.
That same announcement was made by MultiChoice Zimbabwe less than two months ago when it also announced that it would be taking measures such as legal action to deal with Zimbabwean subscribers accessing South African content.
In both countries, there are subscribers who register for DStv South Africa as it provides a wider variety of content at a much cheaper cost. Copyright laws make it illegal for South African content to be broadcast outside the country.
However, this has not deterred a number of agents who have started cashing in on viewers preferences. MultiChoice has been aware of the practice and prior to the threats of clampdown it had professed an inability to stop it. It even terminated some accounts in 2015.
As far as the “illegal subscribers” and the agents are concerned, though, as long as DStv isn’t offered at a competitive price, the “contraband” alternative will always be worth the risk.
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5 comments
I still don’t understand how the subscriber is breaking the law, making it an illegal DSTV connection? To quote, “Copyright laws make it illegal for South African content to be broadcast outside the country,” meaning the fault is with the broadcaster NOT the subscriber, since the signal meant for SA is being broadcast outside SA. That signal is being broadcast regardless of the absence or presence of receiving decoders.
The real issue is Multichoice’s pricing regime. They have mispriced their products to allow for arbitrage. The Zimbabwe product offers less choice and content but costs more in USD terms. So customers opt to get the cheaper SA product which offers more value and also more content for less cost. Greed is killing them. They should treat all customers the same. If they offer Value for money people will not jump the border. In Zambia the problem has been solved by new competition. In Zimbabwe, getting a license is prohibitive and i also believe Multichoice makes it impossible for new entrants by keeping government officials on their good side. I dont know how, but people say its happening.
We are not friends if you say illegal, ..illegal, to me illegal sounds like we are watching their DSTV content for free,,
You days are numbered. Soon those that are inspired to change your world will come into the same people’s home you want to sue and we will see who will lose. I don’t like ECONET because of their arrogance but this time I’m liking their Kwese coz they will force the DSTV guys to behave like real people.
We will see who will cry.
I know with the Econet experience, Kwese will not offer a complete and favorable products, but somehow they are Inspired to Change the DSTV way of doing things. This time DSTV will cry for sho. I’m just smiling seated in the terraces and waiting for the match to begin
Why are they offering different packages in different countries yet they are the same company. The content must be the same and the prices must be the same too. Especially for SADC countries why should the content differ, whats the reason. Some of us are SADC citizens, we have families in countries around and we have many accounts across. We should enjoy the same content, whether i am in Malawi or Namibia i should tune to my usual channels.