The prices of Multichoice-owned Digital Service Television (DSTV) packages in Kenya have been reported to be the highest in Africa as compared to other countries.
In a statement on August 29, the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) raised concerns on a report stating that DSTV subscribers in Kenyan pay higher for the packages than countries such as South Africa, where Multichoice headquarters are based, Nigeria and Ghana.
The reports indicated that the Premium package costs for African countries were as follows; $81 in Kenya, $50 in South Africa, $49 in Ghana, $28 in Nigeria, $78 in Uganda, and $64 in Tanzania.
On the other hand, prices for Compact Plus package were $50.67 in Kenya, $19.51 South Africa, $33,74 in Nigeria, $33.04 in Ghana and $45.72 in Uganda, and $40.49 in Tanzania.
Compact packages prices were listed as $28.79 in Kenya, $11.62 in South Africa, $25.54 in Nigeria, $22.03 in Ghana, $29.61 in Uganda, and $23.56 in Tanzania.
The Kenya Times conducted a fact check on the claims to ascertain if Kenyans pay more for DSTV services in the African region.
According to DSTV Kenya, users indeed pay Ksh10,500 ($81) for its Premium Package monthly.
DSTV Prices in Different African Countries
Nigerians paying for the same subscription, in contrast, pay 37,000 Naira ($28).
Also Read: How to Pay for DStv Packages & What You Need to Know About Subscriptions
The Kenya Times also confirmed that DSTV Premium subscribers in South Africa pay 929 Rand ($51), Uganda-290,000 UGX ($78), Tanzania-175,000 Tanzanian Shillings ($64) and Ghana-680 Ghanaian Cedi ($43).
Cost for a relatively lower package (DSTV Family/Confam/Shangwe) is also high in Kenya (Ksh2,000) as compared to Nigeria (Ksh753), Ghana (Ksh1,235) and Tanzania (Ksh1,756).
However, the costs for the same package are higher in Uganda (Ksh2,393) and South Africa (Ksh2,387).
Comparison of DSTV Prices in Africa
| Countries/Package | Premium | Compact Plus | Compact | Family/Confam/Shangwe |
| Kenya | Ksh10,500 | Ksh6,500 | Ksh3,700 | Ksh2,000 |
| South Africa | Ksh6,740 | Ksh4,491 | Ksh3,402 | Ksh2,387 |
| Nigeria | Ksh2,998 | Ksh2,025 | Ksh1,272 | Ksh753 |
| Ghana | Ksh5,600 | Ksh3,706 | Ksh2,471 | Ksh1,235 |
| Uganda | Ksh10,061 | Ksh5,898 | Ksh3,816 | Ksh2,393 |
| Tanzania | Ksh8,307 | Ksh5,221 | Ksh3,038 | Ksh1,756 |
The current costs of DSTV Packages for the Kenyan market were announced by Multichoice Kenya as new reviewed prices back in March.
The company through a statement on March 20, 2024, alerted Kenyans enjoying streaming services from both DSTV and GoTV that the new prices would take effect on April 1.
Multichoice explained that it tried to make the increase as low as possible while acknowledging the new prices to the difficult economic outlook.
“We have adjusted the prices of its DStv and GOtv packages for 2024. MultiChoice acknowledges the difficult economic outlook and thus has kept the increase at the lowest possible point while ensuring sustainability and provision of quality services,” read part of the statement.
The Ksh10,500 amount for Premium package-which offers the highest number of channels out of all DSTV’s packages-was a sharp increase of Ksh600 from the previous Ksh9,900.
Other new prices listed for the packages were Ksh6,500 for the Compact Plus, Ksh3, 700 for Compact, Ksh2,000 for Family and Ksh700 for Lite, while the XtraView was set for Ksh1,500 per month.
Increase in Prices
This was an increase of Ksh300 for Compact Plus subscribers, Ksh200 for Compact users, Ksh150 for Family subscribers and Ksh50 for Lite users.
The price for the DSTV Access package maintained a monthly pay of Ksh1,300 in the newly listed prices.
On the other hand, Multichoice also revised the prices for GoTV with customers set to pay Ksh3,700 for Supa Plus, and Ksh1,999 for Supa packages.
Also Read: How DStv Made Last Minute Deal to Secure AFCON Rights
Also, GoTV Max and Lite packages’ new revised prices were set at Ksh 1,499 and Ksh669 respectively, while GoTV Value package maintained a monthly pay of Ksh999.
This was an increase for Supa Plus, Supa, Max, Value and Lite subscribers from the previous Ksh3500, Ksh1899, Ksh1499, Ksh649 and Ksh199 respectively.
DSTV and GOtv streaming packages offer a wide range of programs for their audience, including live news, sports, entertainment, children, among others.
Different packages have different number of channels that can be accessed by subscribers.
The DSTV Premium package is the most expensive and it contains 175+ and 38 HD channels offered by the platform.
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