If you are a DStv South Africa subscriber, it’s that time of the year again. MultiChoice’s subscription TV service is hiking its prices by as much as 8.6% and a new set of bouquet prices that are effective from the 1st of April 2016 have just been released.
| DStv PACKAGE | CURRENT PRICE (in Rand) | NEW PRICE (in Rand) |
|---|---|---|
| DStv Premium | 699 | 759 |
| DStv Extra | 425 | 459 |
| DStv Compact | 319 | 345 |
| DStv Family | 199 | 219 |
| DStv Select | 199 | 219 |
| DStv Access | 99 | 99 |
| DStv EasyView | 39 | 29 |
The sharp price increase has been blamed on a weakening South African rand which has placed MultiChoice in an uncomfortable position as it acquires content from the global market where stronger currencies like the British pound and the United States dollar are used.
According to Techcentral, part of the statement from DStv which was meant to explain this latest increase and its other price hikes read,
We buy most of [our] fantastic content in foreign currency, and due to the depreciation of the rand by 29% since April 2015, our costs have gone up dramatically. Over the past five years, our adjustments have been in line with inflation. We’ve worked really hard to keep this year’s fees manageable.
It’s safe to say that subscribers won’t be too happy to fork out more for entertainment and in an environment where entertainment alternatives are popping up in the form of Video On Demand (VOD) services like Netflix and even Showmax, a cousin to DStv, those who can migrate will do.
Will this affect Zimbabwe?
A significant number of Zimbabweans currently access DStv South Africa services using illegal ghost accounts. This hack is popular because of the huge price variance between DStv South Africa and DStv Zimbabwean prices, which are charged in United States dollars, as well as the additional content available on DStv South Africa’s packages.
The scheduled increases naturally mean that these subscribers will pay more, but even after the price hike it will still be cheaper to get the South African subscription. The DStv Premium bouquet price, for example, costs $82 or 1 296 Rand, which is well above the new 759 Rand that South Africa subscriber will be paying next month.
There has been no confirmation from DStv Zimbabwe whether these increases will also be headed DStv Zimbabwe’s way, the local MultiChoice office is yet to respond to our questions on the matter.
However with price increase having been the norm for DStv, the conclusion right now is that even DStv Zimbabwe will have to face some form of price hike this year.
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16 comments
Kumadhora these raises are in insignficant and the SA prices are still way cheaper $50 for DSTV premium is a bargain.
Gotokoto you are right, even if DSTV Zim were to maintain their current pricing, given the current slide of the Rand, there is still a HUGE incentive for people to migrate in droves to DSTV SA as it is still way cheaper than DSTV ZIM.
Am migrating from Zim DSTV to SA DSTV i have been robbed enough! Due to slide of the Rand come Winter it will be very chepear. Bye Zim Account.
If the price increases have been necessitated by weakening rand against major currencies like USD,British pound, Euro and others, then we should expect a decline in Zim because subs are paid in USD or at least the prices should remain as they are.
The prices for DSTV in South Africa are overwhelmingly cheaper compared to prices in Kenya. Premium in Kenya is KES 9400(nearly 93 USD or 1460 Rands). Check prices in Kenya http://www.hapakenya.com/2015/09/29/dstv-packages-prices-in-kenya-effective-october-2015/
PREMIUM NOW GETTING FAR TOO EXPENSIVE CONSIDERING ALL THE REPEATS.WILL HAVE TO DOWNGRADE OR STOP COMPLETELY
Doubt cz zim pays in hard currency and dstv realises itr now that their precious sa customers rand is in the crapper.
Dstv is getting expensive now as 4me m am disconnecting it, imagin diz kind of expense while dey repeat deir movies on n on 4wt, diz ppl dnt deliver wt w pay for
I am DStv Premium with PVR access fees which is R844 and the person who pays for me today his rate is 14.5 which means that $48.20 before Ecocash fees which i pick up. I never ever dreamt of upgrading to Premium let alone Compact Plus because
1. i am not a sports fan, i couldn’t careless
2. i cannot even afford to dream about Premium here in Zimbabwe
Now as long as Rand/USD rate is below 1:10 its always going
1. to be economical to subscribe in SA
2. DStv Self Service portal is way better than eazy.dstv.com portal, there is nothing you can’t do and when you do hit an absolut brickwall you just @dstvcare and you get support without having to listen to call the service centre
3. You get BBC First
Multichoice Zim is always going to lose the argument and i do not ever foresee myself coming back to my Zim account, the only thing i am missing is ZBC and even if they paid me i wouldnt watch that crap after years of enduring Mukadota 17 times a days and incessant jingles.
with the hope of getting more channels and its my last year
as a subscriber of multichoice
zvakadhakwa zvemuzim bhora racho its selected supersport 3 mnandi dstv SA ka1
I paid dstv on the 29th of march 2016 then today i receive a message saying before the 10 of April 2016 we should pay again so i dont understand really
how much compact extraview please
my account number plz check 1116047
plz open dstv I wnt see am deaf plz
Dear Sir, I have a problem with my WALKA 7”. The picture freezes. I went to skye TV in TOKAI cape Town and they said everyone has the same problem and that I should go to N! city in Goodwood and they will replace it with a 5” smaller unit and that I will have to pay R300 for the exchange. I am a pensioner and my son bought this unit as a gift for me. I don’t have R300 to replace the unit as it is not my fault that the unit can not receive your signal. It was working fine all the time. PLEASE let me know what your reasons are for wanting me to pay for something that is NOT my fault. Your reply would be greatly appreciated
I Thank you
David Wessels
0825365128