Despite MultiChoice's recent price reduction in Zimbabwe, effective 26 September, a comparison of rates shows that viewers on the Premium, DStv Compact and Access packages in South Africa are paying less than their Zimbabwe counterparts.

Based on a Rand/US Dollar exchange rate of US13.28, and on a monthly subscription basis, watching DStv Premium in Zimbabwe costs R956.16 (US$72) compared to South Africa's R789, while DStv Access costs R99 in South Africa compared to Zimbabwe's R146.08 ($11).

A Zimbabwean subscriber will have to pay R371 (US$28) to watch DStv Compact compared to R365 in South Africa.

In 2014, MultiChoice issued "warnings" to Zimbabweans who allegedly illegally purchased South African DStv packages in order to watch channels not locally available.

ITWeb Africa could not compare other packages, including DStv Extra, Compact plus, EasyView and Lite, as these are not offered in both countries.

In Zambia, a full bouquet costs about US$90, while the Compact Plus bouquet costs approximately US$55 per month (compared to Zimbabwe's US$47), and the company attributed the high cost of subscriptions to the devaluation of the Kwacha.

DStv also announced a reduction in prices in Kenya effective 1 September 2017.

Accordingly, the Premium Bouquet has been cut by 3.42% to Sh7,900 and Compact Plus by 4.15% to Sh5,200.

DStv has also reduced the price of its Compact package to R412.70 (Sh3,200) and Access by 9.52% to R122.52 (Sh950). The Premium Bouquet has been cut by 3.42% to 1 018.84 (Sh7,900) and Compact Plus by 4.15% to R670.63 (Sh5,200).

This is not the first time the company has been cutting prices in Kenya. In November last year, the South African based company reduced its bouquet prices by between 5 and 15%.

In South Africa, MultiChoice announced a price increase as of April 2017. The company said it did its best to keep subscription fees down, despite "the tough economic climate".

South Africa DStv Premium subscribers are forking out R789 per month for MultiChoice's most expensive service, although it represents an increase of just 3.95% – the smallest increase out of all the packages.