MultiChoice Group is moving to end the practice of password sharing on its DStv Now streaming service.

Password sharing on DStv Now has become commonplace as families and friends share the cost of subscribing to the pay-television operator’s content bouquets.

In an update to the company’s terms and conditions, sent to customers on Tuesday, MultiChoice said that password sharing and piracy are a challenge for streaming providers globally.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to counteract password sharing and piracy, while continuing to bring you the best viewing experience, we will be introducing measures to limit concurrent streaming,” the broadcaster said.

“From 22 March 2022, customers will be limited to streaming DStv on one device at a time. They will still be able to watch previously downloaded content on a second device.”

The change will be made to all DStv subscriptions in South Africa and the rest of Africa from 22 March.

MultiChoice will not limit the number of people using a login. However, it is limiting the service to one concurrent stream. Also, the number of devices users can register for streaming does not change – this remains at four.

Fibre

Many viewers have taken advantage of fast fibre broadband deployments in South Africa to share DStv passwords to reduce the cost of a subscription to the pay-TV platform. This move by the company looks set to end that practice.

The decision comes as the broadcaster struggles to retain customers to its Premium bouquet of channels. It’s precisely the market that Premium is targeted at that can afford broadband fibre Internet at home.