DStv Unveils Free Sports Access, Upgrades Compact Plus Customers to Premium
- South African DStv Select subscribers will get seven days of free DStv Sports access, with no equivalent offer announced for Nigeria
- MultiChoice’s new 17-channel sports bouquet features selected football matches, cricket, UFC, WWE and local rugby
- Existing Compact Plus customers receive Premium content at lower prices as MultiChoice reshapes packages and rewards for subscribers
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
MultiChoice has introduced another incentive for DStv subscribers following a major restructuring of its packages, offering selected customers temporary free access to higher-tier content.
The latest offer is being rolled out in South Africa, where DStv Select subscribers will receive seven days of free access to the newly introduced DStv Sports package from September 29, 2026.
Source: Getty Images
While the offer does not currently apply to Nigerian subscribers, the changes provide a glimpse into how MultiChoice is reshaping DStv packages and testing new ways of retaining customers in its key African markets.
DStv tests free package upgrade
MultiChoice said the seven-day upgrade follows the launch of its new package line-up on September 17.
Under the trial, qualifying DStv Select subscribers who pay their monthly subscriptions in full and on time will automatically receive access to DStv Sports for seven days at the beginning of their new subscription period.
No registration is required. Once the seven days expire, subscribers will automatically return to their regular Select package.
If the trial proves successful, MultiChoice said similar benefits could be extended to other packages before the end of 2026.
MultiChoice CEO Willington Ngwepe described the recent restructuring as only the beginning of broader changes aimed at providing subscribers with more value.
“We’ll continue to find ways to give customers more value from their DStv subscriptions,” Ngwepe said.
New sports package targets football fans
The DStv Sports bouquet represents the broadcaster’s first dedicated sports package and comes with 17 channels.
Subscribers can watch selected Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Betway Premiership matches, alongside cricket, UFC, WWE and local rugby.
The sports package formed part of MultiChoice’s biggest restructuring of DStv products in about 15 years. The company also introduced a standalone Movies & Series package.
Under the South African restructuring, DStv Access customers were migrated to Starter, Family subscribers moved to Select, while Compact customers transitioned to Sports.
The low-cost EasyView package remained unchanged.
Compact Plus subscribers get Premium boost
One of the biggest changes involves existing Compact Plus customers.
Although MultiChoice has effectively retired, or “grandfathered”, Compact Plus for new customers, existing subscribers have been automatically upgraded to DStv Premium without immediately paying the standard Premium price.
Streaming customers continue to pay R549 monthly, while decoder subscribers pay R649, but receive access to the full Premium bouquet.
By comparison, the standard Premium package costs R799 for streaming-only subscribers and R979 for decoder customers in South Africa.
Source: Getty Images
MultiChoice said affected subscribers may continue seeing “Compact Plus” on their bills for now, with the arrangement operating on a month-to-month basis.
The latest move signals that DStv’s September package overhaul may be part of a wider strategy to rethink pricing, content bundles and subscriber rewards as pay-TV faces growing competition from streaming platforms.
For Nigerian subscribers, however, the key distinction is that these specific packages, prices and free-upgrade offers are currently South African initiatives, and MultiChoice has not announced an equivalent rollout for Nigeria.
New packages arrive at DStv
Legit.ng earlier reported that DStv has implemented one of its biggest package shake-ups in more than two decades, introducing dedicated sports and entertainment options while reorganising several existing bouquets and channels.
The changes, announced by DStv’s operating company in South Africa on September 7, 2026, took effect on Thursday, September 17.
Source: Legit.ng
