DStv Upgrades Compact Plus Subscribers to Premium, Offers Access to 160 Channels at Same Price
- DStv Compact Plus subscribers in South Africa get full Premium content without paying higher monthly fees
- MultiChoice’s biggest package overhaul in decades introduces new plans, including dedicated Sports and Movies & Series bouquets
- Equal pricing for streaming and decoder subscriptions is being tested, while Nigerian subscribers await possible local changes
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
DStv Compact Plus subscribers are getting a major content boost following MultiChoice’s sweeping overhaul of its pay-TV packages, with existing customers upgraded to the full DStv Premium channel experience without paying a higher monthly subscription fee.
The upgrade means eligible Compact Plus customers will have access to about 160 channels and significantly more premium entertainment and sports content while continuing to pay their existing Compact Plus rates.
Source: Original
The arrangement currently applies to South Africa, where Compact Plus costs R549 per month for streaming-only subscribers and R649 for customers using a decoder.
For Nigerian DStv subscribers, the development is worth watching because MultiChoice’s wider restructuring could offer clues about how the broadcaster plans to simplify packages, pricing and content across its African markets.
Existing subscribers keep old price
MultiChoice confirmed that existing Compact Plus subscribers will continue to see the old package name on their bills despite receiving what the company described as the “full Premium channel experience.”
However, Compact Plus has now been grandfathered, meaning the package is no longer available to new subscribers.
Customers already on the plan can continue using it, but anyone who disconnects will not be able to return to Compact Plus later.
New or returning customers will instead have to choose from DStv’s revised packages, including EasyView, Select, Starter, Sports, Movies & Series and Premium.
MultiChoice has not provided a definite date for when the free Premium upgrade for Compact Plus subscribers will end.
“This arrangement will continue on a month-to-month basis, and any future changes will be communicated clearly to affected customers,” the company said.
DStv rolls out biggest overhaul in decades
The Compact Plus upgrade forms part of what DStv describes as its biggest product overhaul in decades, with the changes taking effect on September 17, 2026.
Under the new structure, DStv EasyView and Premium remain largely unchanged, while several familiar packages have been renamed or replaced.
Starter replaces DStv Access, Select takes the place of DStv Family, while Sports replaces DStv Compact. MultiChoice has also introduced a Movies & Series package.
Customers subscribed to packages being phased out will automatically move to their corresponding new plans.
The Sports package is particularly significant because DStv customers have long sought a more dedicated option for sports programming.
Subscribers will have access to Premier League and UEFA football, cricket, local rugby, UFC and WWE content, alongside one United Rugby Championship match each week.
However, some major sporting events remain reserved for Premium customers, including Springbok and other international rugby matches, tennis, Formula 1 and MotoGP.
MultiChoice considers major pricing change
Beyond restructuring its packages, MultiChoice is also reconsidering how much customers pay for streaming and decoder subscriptions.
The broadcaster plans to test a system under which customers pay the same monthly fee regardless of whether they watch through a decoder or subscribe to a streaming-only package.
Currently, decoder customers can pay between 13% and 52% more than streaming subscribers, depending on the package, according to a report by MyBroadband
The new Movies & Series bouquet is already testing the approach, with both streaming and decoder subscriptions priced at R500 monthly in South Africa.
Source: Getty Images
Canal+ Africa CEO for pay TV in South Africa, Byron du Plessis, described the move as an experiment aimed at simplifying DStv pricing.
“The idea is that the two prices will be aligned because the content is similar on both packages,” he said.
MultiChoice will monitor customers’ response before deciding whether the pricing model should be extended more broadly.
For Nigerian subscribers, no equivalent Compact Plus-to-Premium upgrade is established by the information announced for South Africa. Still, the restructuring signals potentially significant changes in how DStv packages, content and pricing could evolve across its markets.
New DStv packages on SuperSport
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that DStv has introduced a new range of subscription packages, giving sports fans different options depending on the competitions and channels they want to watch.
The new packages became available on Thursday, September 17, 2026, as part of a broader overhaul of DStv's package structure.
Source: Legit.ng
