DStv Upgrades Compact Plus Subscribers to Full Premium Content at No Extra Cost
By Aboki Forex —
MultiChoice is upgrading existing DStv Compact Plus subscribers to the full Premium channel experience without raising their monthly fees, as part of what the broadcaster calls its biggest package overhaul in decades. The arrangement currently applies to South Africa.
Eligible Compact Plus customers will get access to about 160 channels and significantly more premium entertainment and sports content while continuing to pay their existing Compact Plus rates. Compact Plus costs R549 per month for streaming-only subscribers and R649 for customers using a decoder.
Compact Plus grandfathered, no end date yet
MultiChoice confirmed that existing Compact Plus subscribers will keep seeing the old package name on their bills even though they are receiving the full Premium channel experience. The package has now been grandfathered, meaning it is no longer open to new subscribers. Customers already on it can stay, but anyone who disconnects will not be able to return to Compact Plus later.
New or returning customers will instead choose from DStv's revised packages: EasyView, Select, Starter, Sports, Movies & Series and Premium. MultiChoice has not given 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.
What changes on September 17, 2026
The restructuring takes 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, and Sports replaces DStv Compact. MultiChoice has also introduced a Movies & Series package. Customers on packages being phased out will automatically move to their corresponding new plans.
The Sports package stands out because DStv customers have long asked for a dedicated sports option. Subscribers will get Premier League and UEFA football, cricket, local rugby, UFC and WWE content, plus one United Rugby Championship match each week. Some major events remain reserved for Premium customers, including Springbok and other international rugby matches, tennis, Formula 1 and MotoGP.
Streaming and decoder pricing under review
MultiChoice is also rethinking how much customers pay for streaming versus decoder subscriptions. It plans to test a system where customers pay the same monthly fee whether they watch through a decoder or 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. 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 customer response before deciding whether to extend the model more broadly.
For Nigerian subscribers, no equivalent Compact Plus-to-Premium upgrade has been established by the information announced for South Africa. Still, the restructuring signals how DStv packages, content and pricing could evolve across its markets.