After years of declines in the “premium” segment of its subscriber base in South Africa, MultiChoice Group surprised investors on Wednesday by reporting 5% growth in the segment.

Now MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela has shed light on what led to this turnaround – and it’s coming from an unlikely source: younger viewers, who have never previously subscribed to DStv, are taking up the company’s streaming-only service, DStv Stream.

Mawela, speaking to TechCentral following the publication of the subscription broadcaster’s interim financial results, said: “The launch of DStv Stream has given us a new market altogether – young people in complexes and flats who don’t have to wait for an installer.”

This demand, he said, helped drive the turnaround in the premium segment.

Of course, the recently concluded Rugby World Cup surely also helped drive up subscriptions to DStv Premium, MultiChoice’s most expensive tier and the only one on the platform that broadcasts international rugby.

“We did exceptionally well,” Mawela said of MultiChoice’s subscription sales during the World Cup. “It finished two weeks ago, and many of the people [who signed up] are still sitting on the base.”

He expects the Cricket World Cup will continue to attract subscribers. Following these two major sporting events, though, the worry is that cancellations will spike. To counter that, MultiChoice South Africa CEO Marc Jury is leading a team effort that is “coming up with innovations to retain those customers”, Mawela said.

DStv Stream

He said the convenience of subscribing to DStv Stream is a big factor driving consumer adoption of the platform. “If someone is at home and decides Formula 1 will be interesting this week, they can come in only for that. That’s appealing to young people.”

MultiChoice’s job is convincing those viewers to stay subscribed for longer. “Sport is the driver of pay television; people come in for sport and stay for everything else.”

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According to Mawela, more than 90% of consumers subscribing to DStv Stream have never been DStv customers before. Very few existing subscribers have chosen to move from the satellite service to DStv Stream, even though the latter offering is a little cheaper. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media