Could MultiChoice Be Unbundling Its DStv Premium Service Perhaps?

Canal+ is currently in the process of acquiring MultiChoice with the deal expected to close in October. The French broadcaster had promised that major changes would be awaiting consumers before the year ends and this may have to do the upcoming shakeup awaiting DStv consumers.

A few months ago, it was reported that MultiChoice similar to its potential new owners is exploring the possibility of unbundling it's DStv offering particularly SuperSport. This would give DStv Premium consumers for starters the chance to pay a reduced rate for M-Net and Discovery Channel.

This would reduce the rate of cancellations and honestly it could even persuade existing consumers to bundle Showmax. For sometime, most consumers were skeptical about paying for both services and now that the offering is halved it could persuade some folks to resubscribe.

Of course, something that MultiChoice has yet to address is the potential implications it has to existing DStv consumers particularly premium.

As it is, MultiChoice currently has under 1.6 million premium subscribers (down from 1.8 million subscribers) and with a lightweight version of the service makes them more prune to cancellations. Especially now that channels like Disney Channel and HGTV are accessible on lower packages.

DStv's mass market consumers which comprise of Family to Easyview consumers will likely remain intact as the rates for unbundled package is expected to cost a lot more. Besides that, the consumer base for this market is much wider than that of premium.

If anything, MultiChoice could as well launch a package which excludes Mzansi Magic, M-Net and a couple of other premium channels but with increased competition from Netflix that seems unlikely. What this unbundled offering could do is make MultiChoice reduce their linear portfolio.

Last year, they had merged M-Net's Me and 1Magic to form 1Max only for that to shut down and merge with Showmax. Prior to that, Disney had shuttered both Disney XD and the FOX channels in Africa with the content folded under Disney Channel and Disney+.