NAIROBI, Kenya — Pay-television provider MultiChoice Kenya has announced significant cuts to the prices of its DStv and GOtv decoders, including installation accessories, in a strategic effort to counter a severe decline in its subscriber base.
The price reduction, which applies to hardware kits, comes as the company grapples with a mass exodus of customers, driven largely by increasingly expensive packages and the proliferation of accessible, often illegal, online streaming services.
Price adjustments and market context
MultiChoice Kenya stated that its high-definition DStv Zapper decoders will now cost Sh850, down from the previous price of Sh1,199. Similarly, GOtv decoders have seen their price fall to Sh799, down from Sh999.
The company’s Managing Director, Nzola Miranda, announced the offers, which are slated to run until December 31, 2025:
“These offers are our way of saying thank you to our customers for their loyalty and trust, while inviting new customers to join our growing family.”
The cost reduction also extends to installation hardware: the DStv dish kit is now priced at Sh1,650 (down from Sh2,000), and the GOtv antenna has dropped to Sh700 (down from Sh1,000). GOtv services are typically aimed at customers with lower spending power who cannot afford the full DStv package tiers.
Facing a subscriber crisis
The move to lower hardware costs is particularly critical given the company’s recent performance. MultiChoice has suffered a dramatic loss in active subscribers:
- Subscriber loss: More than 80 percent of DStv’s active customers dropped out in the financial year ending June 2025.
- Active subscribers: The firm was left with just 188,824 active subscribers, a steep drop from 1.19 million a year earlier.
This loss of customers directly contributed to a 27 percent drop in revenues across MultiChoice’s overall markets in the year to March 2025, underscoring the severe impact of competition from cheaper online television streaming services.
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The price cuts follow a series of package price increases—the fifth in under three years—implemented by the company to mitigate the revenue hit from its shrinking customer base. Effective August 1 of the current year, the price of DStv packages in Kenya rose by up to Sh700, with the Premium package hitting Sh11,700.
The price cuts on the entry kits represent the first major strategic move by MultiChoice Kenya since the parent MultiChoice Group was acquired by French broadcaster Canal+ in September 2025.
Canal+ has since announced plans to conduct an in-depth market review of the group’s operations.
MultiChoice Kenya is keen to reverse its dwindling fortunes in the local market and curb further subscriber losses to competitors.
