DStv under siege from an old enemy

DStv is under siege from an old enemy, piracy. To address this problem, MultiChoice is investing millions in combating it in South Africa.

DStv has been the dominant pay-TV operator in South Africa for three decades. It was launched in 1995 and was the first direct-to-home digital pay-TV service outside of the United States.

With the collapse of the SABC, DStv became a must-have for households that could afford it. By 2006, MultiChoice South Africa had 1.5 million subscribers.

Today, MultiChoice has 14.5 million DStv subscribers – 7.0 million in South Africa and 7.5 million in the rest of Africa.

One of its main assets is SuperSport, a global leader in sports broadcasting, offering DStv subscribers access to all prominent local and international sporting events.

Despite its excellent content offering, DStv has experienced a significant decline in subscribers over the last few years.

MultiChoice’s latest results showed that it lost just under 1.2 million DStv subscribers from its base over the past year, with almost half of these losses coming from South Africa.

According to the group, it lost 589,000 subscribers in South Africa and another 591,000 subscribers in Rest of Africa.

What is notable is that Multichoice’s loss in subscribers is nearly consistent across all its market segments in South Africa.

Its premium segment lost about 100,000 customers over the past year, with a further 100,000 from the mid-market packages and 400,000 from the mass market segment.

Some consolation was that the rate of subscriber decline has decelerated, with active linear pay-TV subscribers declining by 8% in 2025, compared to 11% in 2024.

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela attributed the decline to an exceptionally challenging macroeconomic environment and weak consumer spending.

He said they were also impacted by shifts in consumer behaviour and the impact of a rise in piracy, streaming services, and social media.

Piracy hurting DStv

Although DStv’s decline can be mainly attributed to the rise of online entertainment services and increased competition, another problem has emerged again – piracy.

MultiChoice chairman Elias Masilela said that although technology brought great benefits to their industry, it has also enabled broadcasting piracy to thrive.

“A rise in illegal streaming services and pirated content is eroding global industry revenues by an estimated 25% to 35% annually,” he said.

“This not only undermines the income of companies like ours but also erodes the livelihoods of those involved in the creative industry.”

He added that it is negatively impacting economies as it deprives countries of tax revenues and investment in the video entertainment industry.

“Together with broadcasters around the world, we are intensifying our efforts to combat this global scourge,” Masilela said.

MultiChoice and its cybersecurity subsidiary, Irdeto, are at the forefront of the fight against content piracy across Africa.

It utilises advanced anti-piracy tools, strategic partnerships with law enforcement and government agencies, and public awareness campaigns in this fight.

In 2024, MultiChoice, Irdeto, and South African law enforcement agencies conducted 10 major anti-piracy raids, including the shutdown of Waka TV, a large illegal streaming operation.

A powerful new alliance between Irdeto’s Anti-Piracy Unit and the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Unit was also formed.

Rise of online piracy due to fragmented content

Broadcasting piracy is not the only challenge DStv faces. When it comes to movies and TV series, online piracy is on the rise.

The rise of Netflix, which offers an excellent streaming experience, has seen many people move away from online piracy as Netflix solved their problem.

However, the fragmentation of content across multiple streaming platforms caused many people to return to online piracy.

Content used to be centralised through Netflix. However, today, it is spread across platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Showmax.

To access the latest TV series and movies, consumers are often forced to subscribe to multiple services, which can be costly and inconvenient.

Online piracy platforms have all TV series and movies in one place, and using a service like Plex makes it easy and convenient to watch this content.

Many tech-savvy users are, therefore, opting for online piracy over pay-TV services like DStv and streaming platforms like Netflix and Showmax.

Axxess, one of South Africa’s largest Internet service providers, has reported a 20% increase in torrent activity in recent months.

This is a complex problem to overcome, as tracking, charging, and prosecuting individual users is impractical.