MultiChoice Group, operators of DStv and GOtv, has begun piloting weekly subscription plans, with the aim of a continent-wide roll-out The company is testing the plan in Uganda and plans to replicate it in Nigeria and other African markets, if successful.
MultiChoice is currently bleeding subscribers and revenue, after reporting a massive 1.4 million subscriber loss in Nigeria.
MultiChoice Group CEO, Calvo Mawela, disclosed that the pay-TV company introduced weekly subscriptions seven weeks ago and that it should have a good idea of the trial’s success in the next six months.
If successful, the company will consider offering weekly subscriptions in other markets such as Nigeria, its biggest market in Africa. “It’s a big change and we think when people are struggling, as we have seen, offering them weekly passes will help in the same way cellphone prepaid has changed the mobile industry,” said Mawela.
Regarding bundle offerings, Mawela said that MultiChoice does not believe such a structure is viable. He, however, said the firm was researching an offering where customers could get a base product and add channels to it.
MultiChoice recorded a 1.4 million subscriber loss in Nigeria in the last two years. Also, the firm reported a financial decline for the year ended March 31, 2025. Reports say much of the financial loss was due to MultiChoice’s sale of a 60% stake in its insurance business to Sanlam in November last year.
MultiChoice’s revenue for the review period dipped 9% per year, which it said was due to an 11% decline in subscription revenues. However, MultiChoice South Africa’s revenue increased yearly to 41.73 billion rand in the review period. MultiChoice revenue for the Rest of Africa and Showmax operations dived during the period. The company hopes to retain customers in key markets such as Nigeria by offering weekly subscriptions. Its 2024/2025 financial year showed declines in 90-day active subscribers and the overall subscriber base. Subscribers declined eight per cent from 15.69 million as of March 31, 2025, to 14.51 million, while 90-day active subscribers thinned by 11% to 18.59 million in the review period.
DStv is also considering a new package to lure subscribers back to their decoders. The MultiChoice in South Africa is considering a new subscription package that will contain all of the sports channels only. Mawela said this in a Reuters interview on Thursday, 12 June, just a day after reporting a $45 million (or 800 million rands) loss. He explained that they had observed that many customers only subscribe to the premium package because of the Sports channels, and then cancel their subscriptions when it is off-season.
Mawela disclosed that the company is set to finalise decisions on the bundled sports-only package in the 2025 financial year. “We’re considering all options as part of a broader product offering going forward.” Experts have said this is not the first time the Pay-TV giant has considered spinning off its sports channels. In September 2021, it started showing interest in the DStv Flex product, a 67-channel entertainment pack, including general entertainment, kids, news, and free-to-air channels.
