Multichoice South Africa has announced a dramatic price hike that will affect as many as five DStv packages from April 2022.
Some packages will be priced for an additional R10 while some will have R5 added to their cost price. If you have a budget for entertainment, then be ready to increase it at the end of March this year.
Multichoice South Africa CEO, Nyiko Shiburi expressed the company’s concern for DStv consumers. Shiburi disclosed that the idea of a price increase was no easy decision for the company because they know the state of the economy and how it’s affecting consumers at the moment.
However, he noted that a price hike was necessary if they are to continue delivering unrivaled entertainment to their customers.
Why has Multichoice Increased the Prices of DStv Packages?
According to Multichoice South Africa’s CEO, Nyiko Shiburi, most entertainment offerings have increased the price for the content they have on DStv.
Also, more channels have been added to DStv in the last few months including Mzansi entertainment channels and shows.
These additions obviously increase the operational cost for the company and in order to continue running smoothly, they would have to balance the cost by distributing it properly across various units.
Which Packages Are Affected by the Price increase?
The DStv packages that will see an increase in pricing include DStv Premium, Compact, Compact Plus, Family and Access. If you are subscribed to any of these packages, you’ll have to be ready to pay more beginning from April 2022.
How Much will Customers have to pay?
A price hike means the monthly subscription rates for the 5 shortlisted DStv packages will increase starting from April.
Here is a breakdown of price hikes for the packages affected:
- DStv Premium: Additional R10; New price: R839
- DStv Compact Plus: Additional R10; New price: R549
- DStv Compact: Additional R20; New Price: R429
- DStv Family: Additional R14; New price: R309
- DStv Access: Additional R5; New price: R120
The Access fee for all consumers will also see an extra R5 added to it. So if your set-up requires an Access fee – like XtraView for instance – the new price will be R110 starting from April 2022.
Related Article: Does DStv Premium Include Showmax?
DStv Compact will see an increase of R20
The Compact customers will suffer the biggest hit as they have to pay an extra R20 from the beginning of April to continue with the package.
Be sure to add an additional R20 to your entertainment cost when you make your budget in March.
Will the Price Hike Affect EasyView Customers?
It appears that the EasyView customers will have nothing to worry about on this one. Multichoice has not announced any additions to the DStv EasyView package.
Other features like Showmax and Movie Add-ons will also continue at the usual rate.
I can’t afford DStv anymore. What do I do?
The first and obvious option is to downgrade to a cheaper package.
Many consumers find it difficult to downgrade when the lesser package does not include their favourite channels.
To make this decision simpler, you need to consider if you are willing to spend an extra R10 or R20 and cut down on some other important item you have on your budget.
Another option you should consider is getting an alternative source of entertainment for your needs.
Here are a few questions you can ask to make things easier for you:
- Can you switch to free to air offerings?
- Can you change your DStv setup to an FTA receiver at no cost?
- Can you complement your lesser DStv package with a cheaper source of entertainment, such as an FTA or an IPTV receiver?
- What if you pay for a lesser DStv package and add 3 movie channels to it for an additional R99?
Your answers to these questions will make it very easy for you to adjust during the price hike.
