Disney+ has launched a new app in South Africa and given existing subscribers until 12 October to move to it, after which the current app will no longer be available.
Subscribers will be prompted to download the new app and sign in with their existing credentials, with on-screen prompts covering account confirmation and profile setup.
The more consequential change is for mobile-only subscribers, who will be migrated to Disney’s new Basic plan. Disney said this will widen the number of devices they can watch on to include TVs, which the mobile plan excludes. Sign-ups to the Basic plan will run through MTN, with Disney saying details on availability will follow.
Disney did not say what the Basic plan will cost mobile subscribers, whether their current pricing will be honoured or what happens to anyone who has not migrated by 12 October.
The new app supports up to 25 audio and subtitle languages and adds a Junior Mode with profile Pin protection, customisable content ratings and notifications when a profile is changed. Disney has also rebuilt the homepage and says recommendations will draw on viewing history and on what is popular in the subscriber’s country.
The content line-up is unchanged.
A quiet player in a loud market
Disney+ is The Walt Disney Company’s flagship streaming service, launched in the US in November 2019 as the home for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Outside the US it also carries Disney’s general entertainment brands, Hulu and FX, which is how The Kardashians and Only Murders in the Building come to sit alongside the animation back catalogue.
It reached South Africa in May 2022, in a wave of more than 40 new markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at R119/month. A cheaper mobile-only plan, sold through MTN, followed – and it is that plan being retired in this migration. The full service, offering a 4K leanback experience, now costs R179/month.
Four years on, Disney has never published a South African subscriber number, and there is little local presence to point to beyond the app. No local sports rights, almost no local commissions and next to no marketing. Disney reports streaming subscribers as a global figure, with Africa folded into the Europe, Middle East and Africa total.
The app changes come amid flux in the local broadcasting and streaming market. MultiChoice, now owned by Canal+, is pushing through the biggest overhaul of DStv’s packages in 15 years on 17 September, moving M-Net and KykNet out of Premium, dropping cricket to a Sports bouquet at R399 (streaming) and scrapping Compact Plus altogether. That is a direct fight for the households that buy one or two subscriptions and think hard about each one.
The market has also lost a player. Canal+ shut Showmax down after buying out NBCUniversal’s 30% stake, and Netflix and e.tv have moved into the gap with a deal that puts eMedia’s flagship drama on Netflix a day after broadcast. Local content is the ground Disney+ has never contested here.
And the entry price has just dropped. Amazon has folded Prime Video into a full Amazon Prime membership in South Africa at R59/month, down from R79 for the video service alone, so the cheapest route into a major catalogue now comes with delivery benefits attached. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
