DStv in deep trouble
A recent announcement that Betway has replaced DStv as the title sponsor for South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) shows the pay-TV platform’s financial struggles.
On 24 July 2024, the PSL announced that Betway was the premier division’s new title sponsor. It will now be known as the Betway Premiership.
The multi-year agreement, valued at an estimated R900 million, is reportedly far more valuable than the DStv deal.
DStv took over the PSL title sponsorship from Absa in September 2020, which will remain in place until next year.
However, SABC reported that DStv was “concerned about continuing to carry the costs of a partnership that runs into multimillions per season”.
This is not surprising. MultiChoice, which owns DStv, has recorded its worst financial performance ever this year.
Foreign exchange headwinds and a lower subscriber base combined to result in a 5% net decline in group revenues to R56 billion.
Weaker subscriber trends and foreign exchange pressures affected group trading profit, which was down 21% to R7.9 billion.
MultiChoice also suffered a 9% decline in active subscribers, mainly due to a 13% decline in the Rest of Africa business and a 5% decline in South Africa.
MultiChoice’s results for the year through March 2024 showed a R4.1 billion loss. The company has also become technically insolvent.
MultiChoice’s total assets declined from R47.6 billion to R43.9 billion, while liabilities increased to around R45 billion.
This leaves MultiChoice with a negative equity of R1.068 billion, which means it is technically insolvent.
Simply put, MultiChoice cannot settle all its liabilities if all its assets are liquidated. This is a dismal state for a company.
To address its dismal financial performance, MultiChoice will have to cut costs and increase revenue. However, with declining subscribers, cost-cutting is the easiest option.
The company has already embarked on a big cost-reduction process, which included binning initiatives like its DStv Glass product.
News24 reported that DStv Glass became “a victim of dramatic cost-cutting at the pay-TV company, with its roll-out to market scrapped”.
MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela also said the company can still achieve significant cost savings. Ending DStv’s PSL partnership is one such initiative.
MultiChoice’s DStv balancing act

Léa Zouein, a senior analyst at Dataxis, said MultiChoice faces a delicate balancing act between keeping premium subscribers and competing against streaming services.
Exclusive sporting rights have played a key role in the attractiveness of DStv Premium, its most expensive and profitable service.
Zouein highlighted that the high cost of acquiring sports rights and the declining appeal of premium TV packages put MultiChoice under pressure.
“The acquisition of highly qualitative international sports competition can justify the rise in prices and offset this decline in subscribers, but it does not guarantee profitability,” she said.
Another challenge is the unhappiness related to exclusive sports rights to matches of national importance, like those of the Springboks.
MultiChoice’s SuperSport has exclusive broadcasting rights to a wide range of sports events, including those featuring national teams.
DStv Premium relies on these rights to attract and lock in subscribers. However, it has come under severe pressure.
South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, warned that he would step in to ensure poorer South Africans could enjoy these matches.
“I’m not going to be an enabler of the majority of our people not being able to watch the national rugby team or soccer team,” he said.
If DStv loses exclusive rights to high-profile rugby matches, for example, its value proposition could further deteriorate.
Zouein said exclusive sports rights continue to be a key differentiator for operators like MultiChoice.
She said a two-pronged approach of leveraging both streaming and traditional pay-TV platforms for sports content distribution could be promising.
“Multichoice can also leverage its streaming sports offering to drive engagement and subscriptions across other content verticals,” she said.
“By trying to maintain its premium pay-TV subscriber base while growing its OTT platform, Multichoice may generate diversified revenue streams that help offset the lower ARPU of OTT subscribers.”
“The company’s ability to maintain this balance between its OTT and traditional offers will be crucial for long-term sustainability.”
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