MultiChoice Offers $6 DStv Stream Deal as Showmax Shutdown Looms

MultiChoice, the African pay-TV giant, is offering Showmax subscribers a heavily discounted entry point into DStv Stream Compact as it prepares to shut down Showmax on April 30. The R99 ($6) monthly offer, down from the standard R299 ($18), comes with a 12-month commitment and is positioned as a bridge for users who would otherwise lose access to Showmax content.

The move follows months of structural changes at MultiChoice after the company, now owned by Canal+, confirmed the gradual wind-down of Showmax and the migration of its catalogue to DStv Stream. Earlier reports showed the group shifting key originals and live programming onto DStv Stream, while restructuring its streaming strategy around a single platform tied to its pay-TV ecosystem.

Unlike a seamless migration, the transition requires users to actively sign up for DStv Stream, create new profiles, and follow manual onboarding steps. This creates a risk of churn at scale, particularly among users who originally joined Showmax as a standalone streaming product rather than as part of a pay-TV bundle.

State of play: The new pricing appears designed to reduce that risk by lowering the entry barrier. At R99 ($6), the offer undercuts rival streaming services in South Africa while retaining access to live sports through SuperSport, one of MultiChoice’s strongest assets. However, the pricing is time-limited. After 12 months, subscribers revert to the full R299 ($18) rate, introducing a significant jump that could later trigger another wave of cancellations.

MultiChoice has not disclosed the size of Showmax’s active user base, making it difficult to measure how many subscribers are affected by the shutdown. Customers who choose not to migrate can request refunds for unused subscription periods, while automatic payments will stop once the platform is discontinued.

Source: Techbal