DStv, a pan-African pay-TV service, experienced one of its largest subscriber drops in Kenya, losing more than 80% of its customers in a single year.
According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the number of DSTV subscribers declined from 1.19 million in June 2024 to 188,824 in June 2025.
CA reports that Kenya's whole pay-TV market lost roughly 76.9% of its customers, indicating a significant shift in consumer preferences.
The CA defines an "active account" as one that has had at least one subscription within the last 90 days.
The DStv losses were attributed to a series of price increases. The pay-TV company is a subsidiary of MultiChoice, headquartered in South Africa.
In November 2024, the company increased the Premium bouquet price from KES 10,500 ($82) to KES 11,000 ($86), while Compact Plus increased from KES 6,500 ($51) to KES 6,800 ($53).
By August 2025, Premium subscribers faced another hike to KES 11,700 ($91–95). Compact Plus climbed further to KES 7,300 ($56–60), Compact to KES 4,200 ($32–35), Family to KES 2,250 ($17–18), and Access to KES 1,450 ($11–12). The entry-level Lite package remained at KES 750 ($6).
MultiChoice defended the hikes as part of what it says is “routine subscription review,” citing higher content acquisition costs, foreign exchange pressures, and inflation.
“These changes are part of MultiChoice’s annual subscription review, which is conducted with great care to ensure customers receive the best of both local and international content,” MultiChoice said in a statement in July this year.
“The company aims to keep these adjustments sustainable while continuing to provide quality services to its customers.” it added.
The big drop in active DStv accounts raises questions about the future of pay-TV in Kenya. With streaming platforms increasingly accessible, many households appear to be abandoning traditional television bundles altogether.
DStv peers Azam and Zuku also suffered the same fate, with Azam’s numbers falling by 63.1% to 30,095 and Zuku seeing a smaller 1.6% dip to 252,051, respectively.
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