MultiChoice, the parent company of DStv, is taking a bold step to redefine how Africans pay for television. In response to shrinking subscriber numbers and growing economic pressures, the company has launched a pilot program offering DStv weekly payment options—a move that could revolutionize pay-TV in Africa.
This new payment model is currently being tested in Uganda, where the company has rolled it out quietly over the past seven weeks. Rather than requiring a full monthly commitment, users can now opt to pay for just one week of access at a time. If the trial proves successful, MultiChoice has signaled its intention to expand DStv weekly payment to other major markets, including Nigeria.
What Sparked This New Direction?
The shift is more than just a creative idea. It’s a survival strategy. MultiChoice’s recently released financial report for the year ending March 31, 2025, reveals a troubling trend. Revenue from its core pay-TV business dropped 9% to $2.87 billion (ZAR50.8 billion), while operating profit fell by 34%. The company also saw a dramatic decline in active linear subscribers, losing 2.8 million over the last two years. Nigeria alone accounted for 1.4 million of these losses—over 75% of the total drop in the Rest of Africa segment.
With inflation hitting 23.71% in Nigeria as of April 2025, household spending power is under extreme pressure. This has made DStv’s traditional monthly billing model increasingly unaffordable for many. In this context, a flexible DStv weekly payment model offers much-needed relief.
How Weekly Payments Could Help
While the per-day cost of weekly subscriptions may be slightly higher than monthly plans, the key appeal lies in affordability and convenience. A typical monthly plan costing ₦7,000 could now be divided into weekly chunks of around ₦2,000. This breakdown eases the burden on viewers who may only watch TV occasionally or prefer to pay when they can afford it.
MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela compared the move to the shift from postpaid to prepaid models in the mobile industry, noting that people “struggling” with tight budgets could benefit from smaller, bite-sized commitments. This model may particularly appeal to those paid on a weekly or informal basis—a common occurrence across many African economies.
What Viewers Stand to Gain
Though the weekly model increases payment flexibility, it still stops short of full personalization. Many DStv users have long requested the ability to build their own channel packages, and while that isn’t yet possible, there are signs MultiChoice is listening. The company is reportedly considering a hybrid model: offering a basic bundle and allowing users to add channels they actually want.
Already, moves such as decoupling SuperSport from some subscription tiers and increasing investment in Showmax and DStv Stream signal a broader shift toward customer-centric offerings.
Competitive and Strategic Benefits
From a competitive standpoint, DStv weekly payment could help MultiChoice counter the growing threat posed by streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime. These platforms offer flexible pricing and vast content libraries — key reasons they’re gaining traction, particularly among younger, mobile-first consumers.
With digital segments like DStv Internet (up 85%) and Showmax (up 44% in paying users) already showing strong growth, the weekly payment option may bridge the gap between traditional TV and modern on-demand platforms.
Looking Ahead
The weekly payment trial may seem like a small tweak, but it hints at a much larger transformation. MultiChoice is not just changing how users pay — it’s reassessing what the future of pay-TV should look like. By offering DStv weekly payment, the company is showing a willingness to adapt in a challenging economy, a move that could not only regain lost subscribers but also lay the foundation for a more resilient and responsive business model.
Whether or not it becomes the new standard, one thing is clear: the days of rigid monthly subscriptions are numbered.