When MultiChoice first launched Watch from Start in August 2024, it explained that was a first step in bringing full Cloud PVR functionality to DStv Stream customers. “The introduction of Disney+ continues to keep us top-of-mind for customers looking to continue enjoying our robust local and international content,” it added. However, MultiChoice believes it is poised to lead the streaming industry in Africa with Showmax, which it labels as the “home of local content in Africa”. MultiChoice explained this was number was heavily influenced by a 13% decline in the Rest of Africa business.

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Through understanding user needs, the DStv team has crafted an intuitive and feature-rich app that enhances every part of the DStv journey. Match Challenge, along with the upcoming Warrior’s Run and Mystery Kingdom games, was developed by the DStv Rewards team in partnership with loyalty and gamification studio Red Oxygen. MultiChoice has announced three tie-in games for the second season of hit show Shaka iLembe, including Match Challenge.

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These changes are part of DStv’s effort to provide seamless streaming, easy navigation, and superior user experience. This confirms DStv’s commitment to improving user experience and is excited to keep enhancing the app to meet evolving needs. Match Challenge is a casual match-three puzzle game where players match symbols like spears, drums and shields to score points and add time to the game clock.

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This feature is available on a wide range of sports and entertainment channels, making it easier to catch up on the content you love without missing a moment. Netflix also scaled back on its interactive content, cutting the number of titles from 24 to four at the end of last year. “By blending interactive entertainment with our Rewards Programme, we’re giving members and fans of the show a fun, engaging, and rewarding new ways to connect with the content they love,” he said. DStv restricted concurrent streams across all its packages to one device in 2022 to crack down on password-sharing and piracy. “We haven’t fully solved those because we have a number of intermediaries between ourselves and customers,” Jacobs said. Jacobs said that although there have been major technical improvements, problems relating to connectivity and streaming quality were still a bit of a headache.

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MultiChoice ultimately wants to improve its average revenue per user (ARPU) by enhancing its core value proposition. Invidi is a privacy-preserving advertising technology provider that helps target commercials to viewers with the same level of accuracy as online retailers and social media platforms. Reverse EPG lets viewers rewind live TV up to 24 hours, while “Watch from Start” is a button that restarts a programme currently airing from the beginning. DStv Stream has introduced several new features that MultiChoice says significantly improve finding, watching, and managing content.

• Jacobs said that this change definitely created a lot of pain points with customers, and after enough time to assess the impact, DStv decided to reverse course.
• Du Plessis explained that Multichoice has significant work underway, which has already been through testing and is currently in the customer research phase.
• “Streaming has changed the market in terms of general entertainment and international content,” he said.
• If you’re a DStv Rewards customer, you can save R315 per ticket when you buy through the MyDStv App – while stocks last.

It dominates the South African pay-TV market through its DStv products, some of which give customers access to the world’s best sports broadcasts through SuperSport. MultiChoice is redefining entertainment by offering easy-to-use apps that bring TV and sports streaming, account management, and kids’ shows right to your mobile device. This means they can go back in time for up to 24 hours to stream live missed moments and save live favourites – the highest level of viewer freedom with DStv Stream’s latest features. Thidly, Jacobs believes that new features and user experience improvements have helped make the offering more popular. It offers services and technology solutions that protect platforms, digital assets, and software applications across multiple industries.

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According to the broadcaster’s latest annual results, DStv Stream revenues increased 48% between its 2024 and 2025 financial years. From ticket giveaways to VIP upgrades, there’ll be more chances to access the festival your way, through money-can’t buy experiences. If you’re a DStv Rewards customer, you can save R315 per ticket when you buy through the MyDStv App – while stocks last. Du Plessis explained that Multichoice has significant work underway, which has already been through testing and is currently in the customer research phase.

• From ticket giveaways to VIP upgrades, there’ll be more chances to access the festival your way, through money-can’t buy experiences.
• These include searching for movies according to cast and crew, subtitles, and unstable network connectivity detection.
• Reverse EPG lets viewers rewind live TV up to 24 hours, while “Watch from Start” is a button that restarts a programme currently airing from the beginning.

MultiChoice has announced the launch of Arcade, a dedicated gaming hub inside the MyDStv App that offers short, casual games related to shows and sports. Jacobs said that a second growth driver was the youth market which was more tech-savvy and comfortable with using online-only products. The DStv Stream Compact Plus, Compact, Family, and Access packages are also more affordable than their equivalent satellite-based subscriptions. “It also has a huge opportunity of actually giving customers more choice, meeting them where they are, at the prices they want to pay,” said Du Plessis. “Streaming has changed the market in terms of general entertainment and international content,” he said. “Our top priority remains offering South African audiences the best in local and international storytelling, along with world-class sports coverage,” it said.

It also wants to embrace video entertainment streaming through its DStv Stream and Showmax platforms by offering value-added services like DStv Internet and its insurance products. The company’s plan to capitalise on the streaming era and improve its core value proposition for customers revolves around providing access to the best content. These updates offer even more control, allowing viewers to revisit the action they missed and save live content for later – all built to make entertainment more flexible and accessible. These apps empower users to seamlessly access live TV, stream sports like Premier League games, catch up on favourite shows, and efficiently manage their subscriptions – all in one place. In the past year, it added more than 5,340 hours of local content, bringing its local content library to over 91,470 hours.

Customers with auto-update enabled will receive these updates automatically, while others can manually update the DStv Stream app to access the latest features. However, although Netflix’s mobile gaming bet did not pay off, MultiChoice has adopted an entirely different strategy by focusing on casual games that tie into DStv Rewards. Shaheed Mohamed, executive head of customer value management at MultiChoice South Africa, said the company was always looking for more ways to reward customers. Jacobs said that this change definitely created a lot of pain points with customers, and after enough time to assess the impact, DStv decided to reverse course.

He said MultiChoice started brainstorming various changes to understand the ideal packaging structure for its South African business. “Our strategy is shaped by developments in our industry, such as changes in technology, which are driving shifts in consumer behaviour,” the CEO said. These include searching for movies according to cast and crew, subtitles, and unstable network connectivity detection.

Users have praised the app’s sleek design and its ability to handle tasks like paying bills, upgrading packages, and exploring additional features right from their mobile devices. In a recent interview with MyBroadband, MultiChoice chief financial officer Tim Jacobs attributed the 48% revenue increase to a combination of three factors — price, convenience, and user experience. Aside from not requiring a decoder or dish, the product provided little benefit over the satellite plans. In 2020, MultiChoice rolled out standalone subscriptions with launch prices that matched its satellite plans. He described the opportunity as exciting, as MultiChoice hasn’t launched a new content offering in a long time.

“As we are seeing in many first-world markets globally, it also allows for lower pricing to customers when ad-supported models are able to scale,” said MultiChoice. “The technology enables us is coinjar legit to insert separate commercials on DStv Stream from the advertisements shown on the satellite service,” MultiChoice said. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) has warned about the threat international streaming players like Netflix pose to traditional broadcasting. With Reverse EPG and Cloud PVR Recordings, DStv Stream continues to put customer needs first by offering more ways to stay connected and engaged with the wealth of available content.

“There is a certain part of your customer base that simply will not buy your product if they have to put in physical hardware,” Jacobs said. Although the month-to-month package is R100 more expensive, it is still R180 cheaper than the DStv Premium satellite product. In the past year, MultiChoice has increasingly focused on upgrading the platform and tweaking pricing and features to meet customers’ requirements. In August 2023, the platform was rebranded to DStv Stream and prices were dropped across most packages. The broadcaster said it had increased its efforts to explore potential DStv package changes to meet shifting consumer preferences.