Opinion: Here is What Canal+ Must Do to Stop DStv’s Subscriber Exodus

DStv is doing everything it can to win back lost customers, including calling subscribers like me directly with special offers and discounts. The effort is noticeable, even commendable, but it also feels like a desperate attempt to revive a fading Pay TV empire that has been losing ground to modern, flexible streaming platforms.

The truth is simple. While discounts and phone calls may temporarily stop the bleeding, they will not cure the wound. DStv, now under the ownership of French media giant Canal+, must modernize its outdated model if it hopes to survive the ongoing transformation of Africa’s entertainment landscape.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, DStv lost a staggering 80 percent of its Kenyan subscribers, mirroring a 76.9 percent drop in the country’s overall Pay TV market. This collapse is largely due to high subscription fees and the shift to affordable, on-demand digital platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok, which offer more choice, flexibility, and convenience, not to mention the shift to Piracy like Stremio, Cloudstream, etc.

Canal+’s two billion dollar acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025 has opened a new chapter for DStv, but whether this is a comeback story or a slow decline depends entirely on one thing — adaptation.

1. Dismantle the Relic: Flexible Pricing and Custom Packages

The current DStv model of paying for 150 channels just to access the 10 you actually watch is a relic from another era. In today’s digital economy, people want control, not bundles. Sports lovers, for instance, should not have to pay over 90 dollars per month for the Premium package just to watch live football.

Canal+ and MultiChoice must introduce flexible and unbundled pricing, such as a sports-only package or themed add-ons like news, kids, or movies. DStv has already experimented with offering separate SuperSport access through its Showmax platform, and this idea should now become central to its pricing strategy.

By leveraging Canal+’s financial muscle, DStv can finally address the long-standing issue of affordability. In a market where economic pressures are real, aggressive price restructuring is not optional; it is survival.

2. Fix the Streaming Experience

Streaming is the future. Unfortunately, DStv’s own app remains a frustrating reminder of how far the company still has to go.

Customers have long complained that the app is slow, buggy, and unreliable, sometimes refusing to open or stuttering during live broadcasts, even on high-speed internet. After multiple failed updates, the perception of unreliability has stuck.

Canal+ needs to prioritize a total rebuild of the DStv streaming platform, much like how Showmax partnered with Comcast to launch a smoother, faster, and smarter experience. A stable, intuitive streaming service that allows easy content discovery, offline viewing, and seamless device syncing is the key to winning back younger, mobile-first audiences who have already ditched traditional Pay TV.

3. Unlock Digital Flexibility and Real Affordability

DStv must stop thinking like a hardware company selling decoders and start acting like a digital entertainment provider. That means integrating Showmax seamlessly with DStv subscriptions to offer users the best of both worlds, partnering with telecoms like Safaricom and MTN to bundle streaming with data plans, and exploring cost-sharing and multi-user options to accommodate family or group subscriptions without losing control over accounts.

With Canal+’s capital and expertise in European and global streaming markets, DStv has a rare opportunity to reinvent itself by blending the strength of its satellite infrastructure with the agility of digital streaming.

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A Critical Moment for DStv

Calls and discounts may bring a few customers back, but they will not keep them. DStv must move fast to modernize its model, simplify pricing, and fix its digital experience before it becomes another relic of Africa’s entertainment past.

Canal Plus has the money. DStv has the brand power. What remains is the will to change, because in today’s Africa, audiences are no longer loyal to channels — they are loyal to convenience.