It was a rollercoaster year for those who are signed up for pay-TV DStv, with the service battling for the screen in 2022.
Despite the ever-growing popularity of streaming services, many South African households still have a DStv subscription. Whether it is for the sport, lifestyle content or just out of habit, there are several reasons South Africans keep paying for their decoder.
The service made headlines several times this year over decisions made to stay relevant to itstheir audience in 2022.
CLAMPING DOWN ON PASSWORD SHARING
Among the most controversial decisions made was to limit DStv Now streaming to one device at a time.
Social media was filled with complaints about the move, with many vowing to cancel their subscription in protest.
Speaking to Sunday Times Business Times recently, MultiChoice SA CEO Nyiko Shiburi claimed the crackdown resulted in more subscribers for its online content.
He said the service was meant to allow family members to watch different programmes at the same time in the same house, but had become a problem for the entire industry.
“After we limited the number of streams we have seen an uptick in the take-up of DStv as some of those people who were given passwords came on board,” said Shiburi.
In July the pay-TV provider told the Sunday Times it was working on easing the rule for those in the same location. It said there is no set timeline for implementation of changes since it is exploring its options.
“We are in the discovery phase of this process and will advise customers in due course. As it stands, we do not have set timelines for implementation. We are exploring options that will both mitigate the issues of piracy while giving our customers additional viewing options.”
PRICE HIKE
The service announced a price hike from April 1.
The increase saw Premium and Compact Plus subscribers paying about R10 more a month. Compact subscriptions went up about R20, family subscribers paid R14 more and DStv Access subscribers R5 more.
The price of Easyview, Showmax, Add Movies and BoxOffice remained the same.
AND A REDUCTION
DStv announced a limited time reduction in its Showmax Pro service to R299 a month, from R349. Pro Mobile subscriptions were also reduced, to R199 a month, from R225.
4K FOOTBALL MATCHES
The service has been inundated in the past few years with requests to show sport in 4K resolution and in response announced in September that it would air the Soccer World Cup in 4K from November.
To do so, subscribers would need an Explora Ultra, a 4K television (connected with the HDMI supplied with the decoder) and a Premium, Compact Plus or Compact subscription.
While streaming it can be accessed through Showmax Pro.
KILLING OFF THE APP FOR OLD TVS
DStv’s popular streaming app was killed off on several Samsung models from 2015 and 2016, and for Hisense models using U2.5. DStv said the TV sets no longer met the DStv app’s technical requirements.
“MultiChoice is aware of the major inconvenience incurred by customers whose devices can no longer support the DStv app. If a device is no longer able to meet the technical requirements to run the DStv app, it won’t be available on that device, as previously communicated to manufacturers.
“Our customer is our priority. Therefore should the manufacturers take the necessary steps to upgrade their devices within a reasonable time, we will consider accommodating said devices,” it told MyBroadband.
DStv also gave streaming-only customers who were affected Takealot discount vouchers with which to order a DStv Streama media box.
Inside DStv’s fight for the screen in 2022
It was a rollercoaster year for those who are signed up for pay-TV DStv, with the service battling for the screen in 2022.
Despite the ever-growing popularity of streaming services, many South African households still have a DStv subscription. Whether it is for the sport, lifestyle content or just out of habit, there are several reasons South Africans keep paying for their decoder.
The service made headlines several times this year over decisions made to stay relevant to itstheir audience in 2022.
CLAMPING DOWN ON PASSWORD SHARING
Among the most controversial decisions made was to limit DStv Now streaming to one device at a time.
Social media was filled with complaints about the move, with many vowing to cancel their subscription in protest.
Speaking to Sunday Times Business Times recently, MultiChoice SA CEO Nyiko Shiburi claimed the crackdown resulted in more subscribers for its online content.
He said the service was meant to allow family members to watch different programmes at the same time in the same house, but had become a problem for the entire industry.
“After we limited the number of streams we have seen an uptick in the take-up of DStv as some of those people who were given passwords came on board,” said Shiburi.
In July the pay-TV provider told the Sunday Times it was working on easing the rule for those in the same location. It said there is no set timeline for implementation of changes since it is exploring its options.
“We are in the discovery phase of this process and will advise customers in due course. As it stands, we do not have set timelines for implementation. We are exploring options that will both mitigate the issues of piracy while giving our customers additional viewing options.”
PRICE HIKE
The service announced a price hike from April 1.
The increase saw Premium and Compact Plus subscribers paying about R10 more a month. Compact subscriptions went up about R20, family subscribers paid R14 more and DStv Access subscribers R5 more.
The price of Easyview, Showmax, Add Movies and BoxOffice remained the same.
AND A REDUCTION
DStv announced a limited time reduction in its Showmax Pro service to R299 a month, from R349. Pro Mobile subscriptions were also reduced, to R199 a month, from R225.
4K FOOTBALL MATCHES
The service has been inundated in the past few years with requests to show sport in 4K resolution and in response announced in September that it would air the Soccer World Cup in 4K from November.
To do so, subscribers would need an Explora Ultra, a 4K television (connected with the HDMI supplied with the decoder) and a Premium, Compact Plus or Compact subscription.
While streaming it can be accessed through Showmax Pro.
KILLING OFF THE APP FOR OLD TVS
DStv’s popular streaming app was killed off on several Samsung models from 2015 and 2016, and for Hisense models using U2.5. DStv said the TV sets no longer met the DStv app’s technical requirements.
“MultiChoice is aware of the major inconvenience incurred by customers whose devices can no longer support the DStv app. If a device is no longer able to meet the technical requirements to run the DStv app, it won’t be available on that device, as previously communicated to manufacturers.
“Our customer is our priority. Therefore should the manufacturers take the necessary steps to upgrade their devices within a reasonable time, we will consider accommodating said devices,” it told MyBroadband.
DStv also gave streaming-only customers who were affected Takealot discount vouchers with which to order a DStv Streama media box.
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