MultiChoice will split sport from entertainment, lower the entry barrier for selected football and introduce new monthly packages from 5 November.
DStv subscribers in Zimbabwe are set for one of the biggest changes to the pay-TV service in years, with MultiChoice preparing to replace its familiar package structure with a line-up built around sport, movies, series and affordability.
The new packages will launch on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The changes will affect the way households buy access to football, films, international series, local programming and children’s channels, while giving customers a clearer choice between general entertainment and live sport.
At the centre of the overhaul is the decision to separate the content many subscribers watch most closely. Instead of placing the strongest sports and entertainment offerings in a single broad package, MultiChoice is introducing dedicated options for viewers who mainly want live matches and those who prefer movies, drama and factual programmes.
MultiChoice Zimbabwe country chief executive Edwina Korir said the changes were designed to make the service more useful to customers and to improve access to its content.
“DStv’s strength is its combination of local, African entertainment, international content and unrivalled live sport in one place,” she said.
“We’ve reimagined our packages to better reflect how customers watch today, with tailored options specifically for general entertainment and sports fans.”
Under the new structure, DStv Access will become DStv Starter. The entry-level package will add 10 channels to the previous offering and will carry more than 57 channels in Zimbabwe. It will include SuperSport KICKOFF and Wethu+, two additions aimed at viewers who want a wider selection of football and African entertainment without moving to the more expensive tiers.
SuperSport KICKOFF will show selected football from major competitions, including the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Wethu+ will bring a mix of regional and international series, including programmes associated with Mzansi Magic and M-Net. The package will cost US$9 a month.
The changes are important for viewers who have traditionally faced a choice between paying for a large bundle or going without some of the sports and entertainment they want. By placing selected football at the lower end of the line-up, MultiChoice is making its most valuable content available to a wider group of households while keeping the full sports offering in a higher package.
DStv Family will be renamed DStv Select. Priced at US$20 a month and offering more than 97 channels, it will continue to target households looking for a mixture of local and international series, films, children’s programming, selected football and other sports.
The biggest structural change will affect viewers currently associated with DStv Compact. The package is being divided into two distinct choices: DStv Sports and DStv Movies & Series.
DStv Movies & Series will cost US$32 a month and will be aimed at subscribers who place films, drama and factual programming ahead of live sport. It will include M-Net, movie channels, Discovery Channel and BBC Earth, together with M-Net Movies+, M-Net Stars and M-Net Legends.
MultiChoice says the refreshed movie offering will provide more blockbusters, quicker access to new releases and fewer repeats. The package will also carry a selection of sports channels, ensuring that entertainment-focused households are not cut off completely from live action.
DStv Sports, priced at US$30 a month, will carry 17 sports channels and every English Premier League and UEFA Champions League match. It will also include cricket that was previously restricted to DStv Premium subscribers, selected international club rugby, WWE and UFC.
The sports package will still include the entertainment channels available on DStv Select, giving sports fans access to family programming, series and other general content alongside the main live events. This is the first time DStv Zimbabwe has offered a package built specifically around sports enthusiasts.
At the top of the line-up, DStv Premium will become DStv Ultimate. The package will cost US$60 a month and will combine the full sports and entertainment offering. Compact Plus, meanwhile, will remain available at US$46 a month, although the package is being treated separately from the new core structure.
Active subscribers on the older packages will be moved automatically to the corresponding new tiers when their billing cycle updates on or after 5 November. Subscribers on Lite, Access, Family, Compact and Premium will be mapped to the relevant replacement package. Customers will have a transition period of up to three months to review their options and decide whether another package better suits their viewing habits.
DStv Starter will also be available through the DStv Stream standalone platform, widening access beyond households that rely on a decoder. The company is also planning hardware promotions from 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, reducing the cost of selected decoders and dish bundles for new and existing customers.
The package changes come as traditional pay television faces a more difficult fight for household spending. MultiChoice’s most recent full-year results showed that its linear subscriber base fell by 1.2 million, or 8 per cent, to 14.5 million. The decline was split between South Africa and the rest of Africa, while group revenue fell by 9 per cent to ZAR50.8 billion.
The company has pointed to pressure from stretched household finances, currency movements, piracy, streaming services and social media. Subscription revenue declined even after price increases, while the group’s streaming investment continued to weigh on earnings. Showmax’s paying subscribers grew by 44 per cent during the year, but its trading losses increased sharply.
Netflix and YouTube have changed the way viewers expect to watch television. Netflix allows subscribers to choose films and series on demand, often across several devices, while YouTube provides a vast amount of free, mobile-friendly video supported by advertising. Both services have reduced the need for viewers to organise their evenings around a fixed television schedule.
YouTube’s influence is particularly strong in African markets because it works well on smartphones and does not require a conventional pay-TV subscription. Independent market forecasts estimate that YouTube will generate more streaming advertising revenue across sub-Saharan Africa than any individual subscription platform in 2026. Netflix remains the leading subscription service in the region, but its growth is constrained by low average household spending and the cost of data and subscriptions.
That competition is forcing DStv to make its packages easier to understand and more closely aligned with specific viewing habits. The new Zimbabwe structure allows a customer to pay for sport without taking the full premium entertainment bundle, or to choose movies and series without paying for every major sporting competition.
It also gives MultiChoice a way to put selected premium content in front of price-sensitive viewers while protecting the value of its most complete offering. The company is combining the scale of its satellite service with DStv Stream, local productions, African storytelling and exclusive live sport as it tries to keep households connected to the platform.
For Zimbabwean subscribers, the immediate question will be whether the new choices deliver genuine savings and better content or simply require them to understand a different set of package names. From 5 November, the answer will depend on what each household watches most: football, cricket and combat sports, or films, series and family entertainment.