In the spirit of the holidays, DStv, Multichoice’s direct broadcast satellite service, is upgrading its South African active decoder subscribers to higher-tier packages at no extra cost. This means that users who are on the Compact Plus, Compact, Family, and Access subscription plans will automatically be upgraded to the next tier.
DStv Compact Plus and Compact customers would be bumped up to the Premium package, while Family and Access customers will have access to channels on the Compact subscription package. The promotion, dubbed Thol-iUpsize, will run from November 10 and end on December 31, 2025.
Premium subscribers, who usually get two concurrent streams as a benefit to their package, will now have those streams increased to four and will get more DStv Rewards points than usual. These rewards are obtained from completing challenges or playing games and can be used to get vouchers, exclusive access to VIP events, early-bird access to tickets, and discount offers.
The Thol-iUpsize promotion also applies to new subscribers, subscribers who want to renew their subscription plans, or those paying annually. If you’re a DStv user looking to start or renew your subscription, you can find the different DStv subscription packages and their costs here.
The discount comes after a series of promotion campaigns from the Pay-TV giant, Multichoice, following its takeover by French media conglomerate, Canal+. The moves include an Open Time weekend that allowed subscribers to have free access to DStv Premium content as part of the platform’s 30th anniversary. The company also slashed the price of its HD decoders by 30% in retail channels and over 40% through its new DStv online store
“What we’re doing with our Upsize campaign is part of a bigger value reset at DStv,” Byron du Plessis, MultiChoice’s CEO for Pay TV South Africa, said.
These initiatives reflect Multichoice’s efforts in rebuilding momentum in a fiercely competitive video market. In the 2025 financial year alone, the company saw an 8% year-on-year drop in the number of its active subscribers (1.2 million subscribers), split evenly between South Africa and the rest of Africa. Now, it wants to win back those lost subscribers with decoder price cuts and subscription upgrades.
“We’re focused on making DStv more accessible and rewarding, with affordability and customer experience at the heart of our strategy,” Du Plessis said.
The subscription upgrade will only be available on the decoder. Streaming subscribers will receive channels in the package they paid for.