South Africa’s leading pay-TV provider, Multichoice, is experiencing a significant decline in its subscriber base. Over the past year, the company has lost nearly 1.2 million subscribers globally, with almost half of the losses coming from South Africa alone. This downward trend is evident in both South Africa and the Rest of Africa segment.
In its annual report ending on 31 March 2025, Multichoice disclosed that it currently has a total of 14.5 million subscribers worldwide. This figure includes 7 million subscribers in South Africa and 7.5 million across other African regions. However, these numbers represent an 8% decrease compared to the previous year when they boasted a subscriber base of 15.7 million.
When examining the group’s active user base over a 90-day period, which provides a more accurate reflection of engagement, troubling statistics emerge. In 2024, Multichoice reported having 20.9 million active subscribers within this timeframe. By contrast, in 2025 this number plummeted by 11%, translating to a loss of approximately 2.3 million active users down to only about 18.6 million.
The repercussions of losing subscribers are not limited to just numbers but also impact the company’s financial metrics such as Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). The blended ARPU experienced a dip by around R7 per subscriber from R229 to R222 previously recorded. Notably, Rest of Africa saw a substantial decline in ARPU by as much as R25 from R173 to R148 while South Africa witnessed an increase from R281 to R292 during this period.
Despite losing customers overall, there was some positive movement observed in South African ARPU figures due to strategic pricing adjustments within different market segments like Premium, Mid-Market, and Mass-Market packages offered by DStv.
Multichoice noted that economic challenges contributed significantly to the exodus of subscribers across various service tiers including Premium packages like DStv Premium and Compact Plus along with mid-market and mass-market offerings.
While acknowledging these setbacks, Multichoice emphasized its commitment to enhancing customer value propositions through various initiatives aimed at retention and re-engagement strategies for lapsed customers. The company also underscored plans for future growth opportunities through partnerships with key players like Capitec, MTN, and PEP aimed at expanding market reach.
Looking forward, Multichoice aims to stabilize its revenue streams in video services while focusing on growth areas such as interactive entertainment platforms and financial technology solutions like insurance products—a strategy designed to counterbalance subscriber losses effectively over time.
