MultiChoice owned Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service; DStv, has announced a fresh slash in its subscription prices as its latest attempt to gain an advantage in the ever increasing competition for pay-TV customers from new Internet-based streaming services which have entered into the Kenyan Market.
DStv, which began its operations in Kenya in 1995, made it known via a notice to subscribers, that it would slash its monthly payments by between 5 and 30 percent, from the 1st of September 2019.
The move by the direct broadcast satellite service, is seen as its latest effort to protect its customer base in the era of ever increasing competition as a result of the provision of home Internet connections courtesy of Safaricom, Wananchi Group (which owns Zuku) and other providers.
The access to home internet connections, has led to a spike in demand for on the go streaming services such as Netflix, the MultiChoice owned Showmax, and YouTube.
MultiChoice Kenya in a statement made it known that, “Our aim is to make great entertainment accessible to more consumers in Kenya and we believe this move will grant more of our customers access to the complete world of exciting entertainment channels at a lower price.”
Subscribers of DStv’s Premium package, which is its most expensive tariff plan, will now pay 7,500 Kenyan Shillings per month, which is a 5 percent drop and also lower than the previous figure of 7,900 Kenyan Shillings per month.
Users of DStv’s Compact Plus package users will now pay a sum of 4,500 Kenyan Shillings per month which is a reduction of 13.46 percent and much lower than the previous figure of 5,200 Kenyan Shillings.
Subscribers of DStv’s Compact package, will now pay 2,500 Kenyan Shillings per month, which is a 21 percent drop (700 Kenyan Shillings) and also lower than the previous figure of 3,200 Kenyan Shillings per month.
Users of the Family bouquet from DAtv, will pay 1,200 Kenyan Shillings per month as opposed to the previous figure of from 1,900 Kenyan Shillings per month.
This signifies a decrease of 36.84 percent which in turn translates to 700 Kenyan Shillings.
Subscription fees for DStv’s cheapest package which is called Access, will drop by 5 percent or 50 Kenyan Shillings, to 900 Kenyan Shillings per month from 950 Kenyan Shillings.
While the MultiChoice owned Video on demand service; Showmax, has been banking on exclusive local content to ward off competition in the Kenyan market by its biggest rival Netflix the latest cuts by its direct broadcast satellite service DStv, are a very clear indication of the changing landscape for Pay-TV in Kenya, as both its current and also potential subscribers, are beginning to lean more towards consuming content provided by on demand streaming services online.
The increased usage of devices such as Android based TV boxes which have the ability to connect to the Internet, has boosted the illegal streaming of content which includes the English Premier League, further weakening DStv’s dominance in the Kenyan Market.
DStv currently has a subscriber base of around 11.9 million. While the majority of its subscribers are in South Africa and Nigeria, it still has a strong presence in 47 other countries, including East African Powerhouse; Kenya.
