MultiChoice is replacing the DStv package names South Africans have used since 2005. From 17 September 2026, the streaming-only lineup there becomes Starter (R99, 85 channels), Select (R299, 100), Sports (R399, 115), Movies & Series (R500, 115) and Premium (R799, 130).
Starter replaces Access, Select replaces Family, and Sports replaces Compact. Movies & Series is new. Compact Plus was not mentioned and is understood to stay as it is. Premium keeps its name. None of the prices change from what those streaming tiers already cost, and South African decoder customers keep paying their existing satellite rates.
The single biggest content shift is M-Net. The channel has been exclusive to DStv Premium for its entire life. It moves down into Movies & Series, alongside kykNET and M Movies+. South Africans can now buy premium drama and film without paying for SuperSport. Sports carries Premier League, UEFA, T20 cricket, UFC, WWE and one United Rugby Championship match a week.
MultiChoice did not announce any of this. It published the package pages to the DStv website on the night of Friday 28 August and pulled them down, and MyBroadband saved the screenshots first. BusinessTech reported the same. The company declined to comment, said affected customers would be told in good time. It is due to brief journalists in Johannesburg on Monday 7 September.
Kenya is a different company
DStv in South Africa is sold by MultiChoice LicenceCo, formally MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd. It exists because South African law caps foreign voting rights in a local broadcaster at 20 percent and requires licensees to be 30 percent owned by historically disadvantaged groups. When Canal+ completed its takeover of MultiChoice in September 2025, the South African business had to be carved out to comply. Canal+ Africa supplies it with channels.
Kenya sits under MultiChoice Africa Holdings BV instead. Different company, different currency, different rights deals.
DStv Kenya’s official storefront, checked on 4 September, still lists Lite at KES 750, Access at KES 1,450, Family at KES 2,250, Compact at KES 4,200, Compact Plus at KES 7,300 and Premium at KES 11,700.
What changes for Kenya?
On 16 September the movie channels merge. MultiChoice says:
- M Movies 1 East and M Movies 2 become M Movies+ East on channel 106,
- M Movies 3 becomes M Movies Stars on 107, and
- M Movies 4 becomes M Movies Legends on 108.
- On GOtv, Stars takes 353 and Legends 350.
All four M-Net movie channels are currently on the Kenyan Premium list, so Premium subscribers end up with one fewer for the same KES 11,700.
On August 19th, there was a SuperSport reshuffle:
- SuperSport Extra 2 launched on 217 for Premium,
- Variety 1 became SuperSport Extra on 230,
- Action moved to 229 for UFC and PFL,
- WWE to 226, KickOff to 227 and Africa to 228.
MultiChoice says no sport was dropped and no bill rises because of it.
kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Bioskop and Mzansi Music will also close on 16 September. None of the three are on the Kenyan channel lists.
Why this matters here
Communications Authority figures for January to March 2026 show Kenya’s pay TV market down 5.1 percent in one quarter to 1.58 million active subscriptions, with DStv losing 22,450 subscribers to land at 248,053. Canal+ has answered with a price freeze, cheaper decoders, every World Cup match on every tier, a free June bouquet upgrade and DStv Stream Compact at KES 550 for former Showmax users.
Selling sport separately is the one lever it has not pulled here.
On Monday 7 September MultiChoice will confirms or corrects the South African structure. On 16 September Kenyan decoders may lose a movie channel.
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