February, for those familiar with MultiChoice and more specifically DStv, is not a happy time. We hope you’re still riding that Valentine’s Day high because there’s a good chance you’ll need a shoulder to cry on after you get a look at the company’s latest bout of annual price hikes — some of the largest we’ve seen in years — which are set to go into effect from 1 April 2024.
The luckiest of DStv’s customers, also known as EasyView subscribers, won’t be feeling the sting of a price hike this year, holding onto that R30/m price tag. Others haven’t been quite so lucky. Those under the DStv Family subscription will only see a 3.1% increase, while DStv Access customers will be forced to bear the massive 7.8% increase coming their way — far beyond the country’s average inflation of 6% for 2023.
DStv’s got us locked in (but in a good way)
MultiChoice, obviously, believes the annual price hikes are “fair” considering the wide array of content it has on offer, from football, rugby, and the UFC to the same four episodes of Friends on loop throughout the day. We get it. We’d say the same thing in DStv’s shoes. But after hearing what MultiChoice had to say on the subject, we reckon it may actually be onto something. Sort of.
This year, the broadcaster is introducing what it calls a “price lock”, whereby monthly fees will remain ‘locked’ in at their current rates, provided the customer signs up for a 24-month contract upfront.
“We’re excited about DStv price guarantee which secures a price lower than today for our customers who sign up for our 24-month deal to beat the increase,” says Marc Jury (via News24).
That means those customers who take the bait sign up for a 24-month contract before 1 April 2024 will avoid 2025’s annual increase, and continue to pay the R880/m fee until their contract ends in 2026, after which they will be forced to feel 2026’s annual increases. Customers taking advantage of the price lock — before or after 1 April 2024 — will have their R120/m access fee comped, knocking off a big chunk of the total price.
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It’s an interesting tactic, giving the more loyal customers a break on their monthly fees, but it also gives us an idea of where DStv’s head is at. Can you remember the last time DStv was this kind when it came to annual price hikes? Us neither. We wouldn’t be surprised to see more cost-cutting schemes come into play next year.
Enough about that, though. Let’s get down to why you’re here. This is what each package will cost come 1 April 2024:
- Premium – R929/m (from R879/m – 5.7% increase)
- Compact Plus – R619/m (from R579/m – 6.9% increase)
- Compact – R469/m (from R449/m – 4.5% increase)
- Family – R329/m (from R319/m – 3.1% increase)
- Access – R139/m (from R129/m) – 7.8% increase)
- EasyView – R29/m (no change)
According to News24, DStv’s Access’ larger-than-usual price hike is due to the addition of new sports content to the package, which will see ESPN, La Liga, SuperSport Variety 4 and SuperSport’s Blitz channels thrown into the mix.
Customers under the DStv Stream umbrella have nothing to worry about, for now. According to Marc Jury, the internet-only service is still fairly new — having only launched in mid-2023 — and a price hike “is not warranted.” Yet. We expect DStv’s tune to change by the time we’re writing this in February 2025.