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CHANNEL EXODUS

Subscribers furious as DStv moves to slash 16 channels during festive season

MultiChoice’s DStv will drop 16 Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount channels from 31 December 2025 after failed negotiations, shrinking its already pricey bouquet. Furious subscribers on X are threatening to cancel and jump to streaming instead, as platforms like Amazon Prime, Apple, Showmax and Netflix battle for South Africans’ loyalty and eyeballs.

Subscribers furious as DStv moves to slash 16 channels during festive season Illustrative Image: DSTV logo. (Image: Wiki Commons) | Hands holding remote | TV box (Image: Freepik)
Hannah Abrahams
By Hannah Abrahams
4 Dec 2025
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In a considerable content cutback, the country’s pay television service has confirmed the removal of 16 channels. This comes after negotiations between Multichoice and Warner Bros. Discovery were unsuccessful, as DStv’s agreement with the international media group runs out on 31 December.

Discovery channels affected are:

  • Discovery Channel
  • TLC
  • Cartoonito
  • Cartoon Network
  • CNN International
  • Food Network
  • The Travel Channel
  • TNT
  • Investigation Discovery
  • Real Time
  • HGTV
  • Discovery Family

The service confirmed last month that Paramount Africa’s BET Africa and MTV Base channels, as well as CBS AMC Network International’s CBS Justice and CBS Reality TV channels are also being axed, causing a significant blow to Multichoice and DStv’s channel lineup.

DStv offers various packages, ranging from its cheapest option at R29 per month for its EasyView package, to its most expensive package at R929 per month. However, it is unclear how pricing will be adjusted as a result of the significant content cutbacks, or how current pricing will be justified if it remains the same.

What South Africans are saying

Many unhappy South Africans took to X this morning to express frustrations over DStv’s announcement.

“This is an official goodbye to @DStv plus it’s super expensive now,” said Disebo Dee on X.

Many viewers are concerned about the price of their subscription, with one X user adding: “Yeah no DStv is gone now. They should also cut down their crazy fees in this case.” (@pcross_13)

“We might as well cancel our subscriptions,” said another X user. (@MrDonEsquire).

Streaming dominates SA screens

SA streaming trends reveal that there is a strong preference for local platforms, with DStv’s streaming service leading with a net penetration of 16%, Showmax in second with 11% and Netflix in third place with 10%.

Information from Fabricdata, infographic created using Nano Banana Pro.
Information from Fabricdata, infographic created using Nano Banana Pro.

Despite few completely local streaming platforms, they cater to a large portion of SA audiences. Furthermore, industry projections estimate the local streaming market to grow at an annual compound growth rate of 8% by 2028.

While many South Africans have enjoyed DStv’s offerings for decades, it is to be seen how many will stay loyal after the major channel cuts in the new year. DM

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