DStv’s future: unbundled sports and a-la-carte content, or more of the same?

Published: 2025-01-15 11:12 +02:00 by Duncan McLeod tag: Broadcasting and Media

Groupe Canal+, which is in the throes of acquiring MultiChoice Group, has similar content offerings to DStv in France, its home market – but with one major difference.

Groupe Canal+, which is in the throes of attempting to acquire DStv owner, South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, has similar content offerings to DStv in France, its home market – but with one major difference: the way it bundles sport.

An analysis by TechCentral shows that like DStv, Canal+ in France offers a range of bouquets aimed at specific market segments, including platforms dedicated to movies, series and children’s entertainment.

And, like DStv, the French broadcaster also offers an excellent selection of live sports through a separate, sports-focused bouquet.

With Showmax, we are trialling a product with sport we know is the most popular and most followed

Could this point to a future where MultiChoice is less reluctant to unbundle SuperSport from the rest of its content offerings. Until now, the JSE-listed broadcaster hasn’t offered a standalone sports bouquet, preferring to bundle sport with its broader entertainment offerings.

With its subscriber numbers under pressure, though, especially at the high end of the market, could it be a case of when – and not if – SuperSport is given more autonomy from the mothership?

That change may not happen under the current MultiChoice leadership. Speaking to TechCentral in November , MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela said the strategy of bundling sports and entertainment made sense.

“What we know is that very few people subscribe only to one service. Even on Showmax, despite us having added football, we see the biggest uptake is of both football and general entertainment,” Mawela said of the MultiChoice-owned streaming service.

Future strategy

“With Showmax, we are trialling a product with sport we know is the most popular and most followed – football is like gospel on the continent, and we’ll see how it plays itself out, and that will help us understand viewer habits and what the preferences of customers are. It’s still early days,” Mawela said.

But with Canal+ hoping to conclude its planned acquisition of MultiChoice this year – the deal must still be approved by South African regulators, including the Competition Commission – what does the French broadcaster’s content strategy suggest in terms of possible changes to MultiChoice’s content and pricing strategies should its acquisition pass regulatory muster?

Read: Canal+, MultiChoice approach regulators over deal

Research by TechCentral shows that Canal+ in France offers a range of options to subscribers:

A base package (simply called Canal+) provides a range of entertainment channels and some sports channels and includes movies, series and documentaries. It comes bundled with Apple TV+ and costs €19.99 (R389)/month. It supports up to two concurrent viewers (contract only). Canal+ also offers the base package with Netflix (standard plan with ads) bundled and promises the latest international movies and TV series as well as access to Apple TV+. Bundled sport is focused on the UEFA Champions League but also includes some Premier League games as well as all Formula 1 races and the MotoGP Grand Prix. This tier costs €19.99 (R389)/month for the first six months, after which the price increases to €27.99 (R545)/month on a 24-month contract. It supports two concurrent viewers (24-month contract only), or one viewer on the month-to-month plan. Then there’s the Canal+ Cine Series, which costs €29.99 (R583)/month (and up, depending on options and contract commitments). This package bundles Netflix (standard plan), Cine+OCS, HBO’s Max and Paramount+ as well as additional premium movies and series. Also for €29.99 (R583)/month is a Canal+ & European Cup Pass, which offers access to additional European football games, including the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, but it strips out some of the streaming options, including Netflix and Paramount+. Both these packages also support two concurrent users (on a 24-month contract; one user on the month-to-month option). Canal+ Sport, meanwhile, costs €34.99 (R681)/month (and up, depending on options) and offers a much wider range of sporting content, including all Premier League games and the LaLiga tournament. A sports-only bouquet like this one is completely missing on DStv. Lastly, the French broadcaster’s top-end bundle includes everything all the other plans have to offer. Costing €59.99 (R1 167)/month for the first six months and €75.99 (R1 478)/month for the rest of a 24-month contract term, Canal+ The Total, as the bundle is known, costs significantly more than MultiChoice’s top-end bouquet, DStv Premium. However, it offers access to all Canal+ live sport plus all movies, series and documentaries, and comes bundled with HBO’s Max (standard plan), Netflix (standard plan) and Paramount+ (standard plan) — users can pay more to upgrade these plans). Canal+ The Total also provides a discounted Apple Music subscription. It allows four concurrent users to access the platform, whereas the other bouquets allow for a maximum of two.

On all Canal+ plans, users who sign up for a 24-month contract get 4K UHD resolution with support for HDR (high dynamic range) as well as Dolby Atmos surround sound. MultiChoice does not currently offer any channels in 4K or HDR, though the broadcaster has tested 4K in the past.

Canal+ also offers some cheaper options. One is aimed at young people (aged 26 and below) and includes streaming packages like Netflix with ads for €19.99/month. There’s also a TV+ option for €2 (R39)/month that offers a basic selection of content.

For comparison, DStv offers the following bouquets (pricing is per month and each bouquet offers only one stream and one mobile stream):

DStv Premium (satellite): R929/month DStv Stream Premium: R699/month DStv Compact Plus (satellite): R619/month DStv Stream Compact Plus: R549/month DStv Compact (satellite): R469/month DStv Stream Compact: R299/month DStv Family (satellite): R329/month DStv Stream Family: 299/month DStv Access (satellite): R139/month DStv Stream Access: R99/month DStv EasyView (satellite): R29/month

DStv also offers discounted access to its streaming platform Showmax for some of its plans. Showmax is free on Premium. Users can also bundle the likes of Netflix and Disney+ at an additional cost. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

Euro/rand conversions were accurate at the time of publication

Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Sign up here .

Don’t miss:

DStv Stream is gaining momentum

Enhanced Investments, Inc.
329 South Oyster Bay Road #2085
Plainview, NY 11803
team@eninvs.com

Important disclosures

Performance results were prepared by Enhanced Investments, and have not been compiled, reviewed or audited by an independent accountant. Performance estimates are subject to future adjustment and revision. Investors should be aware that a loss of investment is possible. Account holdings are for illustrative purposes only and are not investment recommendations. Additional information, including (i) the calculation methodology; and (ii) a list showing the contribution of each holding to the portfolio’s performance during the time period will be provided upon request.
All statements made via social media sites sponsored or maintained by Enhanced Investments and its affiliates are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a comprehensive description of Enhanced Investments' investment advisory services.
Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and applicable fees. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested. Information provided by Enhanced Investments is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice.

Nothing on this website should be considered an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns [or probability projections] are hypothetical in nature and may not reflect actual future performance.
All the strategies assume investments in equity invstrumenta only and are more relevant for "agressive investment profile". Eastern European flagship strategy assumes using up to 20% leverage of total portfolio. GlobalCommodities and US Growth strategy currently assume no leverage.
Results for the Enhanced Investments strategies as compared to the performance of Illustrative Benchmarks is for informational purposes only. Our investment program does not mirror that of the Illustrative Benchmarks and the volatility may be materially different from the volatility of Illustrative Benchmarks. Reference or comparison to an Illustrative Benchmark does not imply that strategies of Enhanced Investments will be constructed in the same way as the Illustrative Benchmark or achieve returns, volatility, or other results similar to those of the Illustrative Benchmark. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged market capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation to represent U.S. equity performance.
Performance results were prepared by Enhanced Investments, and have not been compiled, reviewed or audited by an independent accountant. Performance estimates are subject to future adjustment and revision. Investors should be aware that a loss of investment is possible. Account holdings are for illustrative purposes only and are not investment recommendations. Additional information, including (i) the calculation methodology; and (ii) a list showing the contribution of each holding to the portfolio’s performance during the time period will be provided upon request.
All statements made via social media sites sponsored or maintained by Enhanced Investments and its affiliates are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a comprehensive description of Enhanced Investments' investment advisory services.
Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and applicable fees. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested. Information provided by Enhanced Investments is for informational and general educational purposes only and is not investment or financial advice.