MultiChoice, the parent company of DStv and GOtv, has announced a 30–40% price cut on its HD decoders across key African markets, including South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

The price drop, which sees South Africa’s standard HD decoder reduced from R999 to R599, comes amid a sharp decline in subscribers and growing competition from streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube.

In Nigeria, where 1.4 million subscribers were lost between 2023 and 2025, users have continued to express frustration that subscription fees remain unchanged despite the new discount.

DStv’s entry-level Padi package costs ₦4,400 monthly, while Premium subscriptions are about ₦29,000, following price hikes earlier in 2025.

Analysts believe the decoder promotion — which coincides with a free “Open Time” viewing event in November — is aimed at boosting new connections and retaining market share as MultiChoice integrates operations with French media giant Canal+, now its largest shareholder with a 45% stake.

However, industry watchers insist that lasting subscriber growth will depend on more affordable monthly pricing rather than hardware discounts.