MultiChoice Hikes DStv, GOtv Prices in Kenya by 4% to 7% Amid Rising Costs

MultiChoice, a prominent pay-TV provider in Africa, has announced a price adjustment for its DStv, GOtv, and Showmax monthly subscription plans in Kenya, effective from August 1st, 2025. The adjustments include a 4% to 7% increase in DStv and GOtv plans, while Showmax plans have seen a significant reduction. The company attributed these changes to rising operational costs and investments in local and international content, as well as its annual price review.

This latest round of adjustments comes at a time when customers are already perceiving the products as expensive and out of reach. The 1.2 million drop in active subscribers to 14.5 million, coupled with an 8% year-on-year drop in earnings, reflects the current customer sentiment. The price hikes for DStv packages include an increase from KES1,350 to KES1,450 for the Access plan, from KES2,100 to KES2,250 for the Family plan, from KES3,900 to KES4,200 for the Compact plan, from KES6,800 to KES7,300 for the Compact Plus plan, and from KES11,000 to KES11,700 for the Premium plan. The Lite plan remains unchanged at KES750, and the newly introduced XtraView plan is priced at KES1,700 per month.

For GOtv, the Value plan decreased from KES699 to KES599, while the Plus plan remained unchanged at KES999. The Max plan increased from KES1,599 to KES1,699, the Supa plan from KES2,099 to KES2,199, and the Supa Plus plan from KES3,000 to KES3,199. Showmax, on the other hand, saw an overall reduction in its subscription plans due to growing competition from rivals such as YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video. The General Entertainment (GE) plan decreased to KES550 from KES650, the GE Mobile plan to KES200 from KES300, and the Premier League (mobile only) plan to KES450 from KES500.

Over the past two years, MultiChoice Group has faced significant challenges across several African markets. The company has lost 2.8 million subscribers and experienced a negative impact of $576.5 million due to the depreciation of African currencies against the US dollar since 2023. These challenges are attributed to macroeconomic pressures, rampant piracy, intense competition from global streaming platforms, and substantial investments in its streaming service, Showmax. Despite these pressures, MultiChoice has continued to hike subscription prices across major markets such as Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa.

In Nigeria, for example, MultiChoice has raised subscription fees over the last three years. The first increase was in April 2023, followed by another in November 2023, and the latest increment was announced in April 2024 and took effect on May 1. The cost of the DStv Compact bouquet rose from ₦15,700 to ₦19,000. The company cited factors such as high inflation, power grid collapse, and fuel scarcity for the subscriber loss in Nigeria, which accounted for 77% of the subscriber loss recorded across its Rest of Africa (RoA) operations between 2023 and 2025. Additionally, the rise of piracy, streaming services, and social media has materially affected MultiChoice's overall performance.

To compound its operational challenges, MultiChoice's Nigerian subsidiary was fined ₦766,242,500 by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission for breaching the Nigeria Data Protection Act. The investigation, which began in the second quarter of 2024, uncovered serious reports of privacy breaches affecting subscribers. These developments highlight the complex environment in which MultiChoice operates, balancing the need for revenue growth with the pressures of a competitive and evolving market landscape.