Joy for DStv subscribers in South Africa
DStv owner Multichoice has confirmed that subscribers will not see a price increase from 1 April as is usually expected—but warned that future hikes are not off the table for 2026.
Speaking to MyBroadband, Multichoice clarified misconceptions that DStv price hikes were nixed for the year.
This followed a message from Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot in February, who said the company currently has no plans to increase subscription fees for DStv packages.
“We don’t have any price increase planned at this moment,” Mignot said. Mignot has since been more specific, saying no increase was planned for 1 April, when DStv typically adjusted prices every year.
MultiChoice confirmed that Mignot’s comments did not mean there would be no price increase for the rest of the year.
While no price increase is currently being planned, the company is still assessing all its options, and changes could happen later.
Regardless, even a stay on price hikes for the time being should bring joy to subscriber households in South Africa who will be hit with a barrage of hikes in April 2025.
April marks the first month of the new financial year for the government, where any tax adjustments will come into effect.
While economists do not anticipate any major tax hikes to be announced at the tabling of the 2026 Budget on 25 February, a few nasty surprises could be lurking in the numbers.
This includes another potential freeze in tax brackets—where they are not adjusted for inflation, resulting in bracket creep and taxpayers paying more to the state—as well as another possible fuel levy hike.
April will also see Eskom’s electricity price hikes for direct customers implemented (with municipal customers to follow in July 2026).
While Eskom had initially been granted a tariff increase of around 6% for 2026, energy regulator Nersa has since allowed the utility to collect billions of rands more from paying customers, pushing the hike close to 9%.
Changes for DStv customers
The temporary price freeze on DStv forms part of Canal+’s strategy to turn Multichoice’s operations around.
Canal+ took control of Multichoice in September 2025 following a lengthy acquisition process.
In January 2026, the new parent group laid out a broad strategic plan to optimise its operations and stem subscriber losses.
Multichoice had a peak of roughly 23.5 million subscribers in the 2023 financial year. The French broadcaster said it was best placed to help MCG return to its pre-2023 growth trajectory.
It has already started implementing some of its strategic shifts, including forging new content partnerships, renegotiating hardware prices and optimising Multichoice’s tech and infrastructure.
On the consumer side, the group has launched new initiatives, such as bill splitting—allowing two people to pay half the bill each—and has promised expanded content, tapping into the Canal+ library.
On the business side, Canal+ said it will leverage its global scale to deliver significant “cost synergies”.
The group will leverage its increased scale and footprint to optimise its estimated €8.0 billion (R150 billion) cost base.
Since gaining control of MCG in September 2025, actions taken that have already secured free-cash flow benefits of over €80 millon (R1.5 billion) include:
- New content partnerships
- Renegotiation of hardware prices
- Optimisation of tech & broadcasting infrastructure
- Refinancing of MCG’s long-term debt
Further elements of the group’s plan for MCG markets will be provided at the Canal+ Strategic Update, which will be published alongside Canal+’s Full Year Results.
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