When it announced its last price increase in March, pay TV service provider Multichoice Kenya had done so thrice in a span an year, an alarming upward trajectory that previously saw the provider hike prices in April and August last year .
Now, the company is back with yet another upwards price adjustment that will see subscribers of its satellite TV service, DStv, which is also available online as DStv Stream, pay more to access news, sports, lifestyle and other content on offer.
The changes in pricing go from as little as Kshs 50 for subscribers of the Lite and Access packages to as much as Kshs 500 for DStv Premium subscribers. Premium is the highest subscription tier on offer. For Kenyans, it is the only package from where they can enjoy Formula 1 since it is the only one that has the Supersport Motorsport channel, a steep price to pay when Formula 1 already offers a more sensible option.
With sister service Showmax sticking with a mobile-only streaming plan for its subscribers and offering only the Premier League, anyone wanting to follow the Champions League group stages this month will have to make do with a higher access fee for the Compact Plus package where the tournament is broadcast live. Those interest in just the English Premier League will, at the very least, have to settle with the Compact package whose pricing has gone up by Kshs 200.
Here are the new monthly DStv prices that take effect on November 1st 2024:
| Package | Old price (in Kshs) | New price (in Kshs) |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | 700 | 750 |
| Access | 1,300 | 1,350 |
| Family | 2,000 | 2,100 |
| Compact | 3,700 | 3,900 |
| Compact Plus | 6,500 | 6,800 |
| Premium | 10,500 | 11,000 |
A statement to customers signed by Nzola Miranda, Multichoice Kenya’s Managing Director, also includes changes in other services like XtraView, HDPVR and the like.
While the statement makes no mention of the online streaming service DStv Stream, the service’s pricing has been pegged on the packages that users of the satellite service (who have a satellite dish and a decoder) subscribe to. Therefore, DStv Stream subscribers can expect to pay the above amounts from next month.
