When we saw the announcement on social media we thought this was a joke. Apparently it’s not, DSTV is indeed going up starting 1 June for Zimbabweans. The DSTV notice blamed this new latest hike on Value Added Tax (VAT) of 14.5% which now applies to DSTV payments too.

DSTV were also at pains to point out the fact that we haven’t had a DSTV price hike in Zimbabwe for the past 4 years and that they have added new channels. That counts for little when Zimbabweans have always paid more than everyone else in the region.

DStv Region	Price in local currency (Premium)	Price in US$ (Premium)
Zimbabwe	N/A	$65
Kenya	7370KES	$78
Uganda	219 000UGX	58
Botswana	650BWP	54
Zambia	850ZMW	$45
South Africa	R749	$41

DSTV price comparisons

So Zimbabweans were already paying more for less, yes less, Zimbabwe gets few channels than say South Africans even though they pay double as much. Strangley South Africans think they are paying too much and have signed a very popular petition that calls for DSTV to reduce prices. Ridiculous if you ask me.

Package	Current price per month	New price per month
Lite	$7	$8
Access	$11	$13
Family	$17	$19
Compact	$25	$29
Compact Plus	$40	$45
Premium	$65	$75
HD PVR Premium	$76	$88
XtraView Access Fee	$11	$13
Indian	$32	$37

The current prices and prices starting 1 June

While the changes are not earth shattering for the low priced packages things get a little too hot for those who are on premium who have to pay about $12 more or even $13.50 if they are using PVR facilities.

Consequences

DSTV can bet on a fall in Zimbabwean subscriptions. Notice how we were careful enough to call them Zimbabwean subscriptions? That was very deliberate because Zimbabweans have always had a choice. Foolishly pay for the Zimbabwean package or hop over to the South African packages. Most have chosen South African packages already due to the massive savings and perks that come with the packages.

South African packages are really really cheap
There are lots of “agents” that process payments for these using Visa Cards on Upay or Kazang. Payments are instant so you don’t have to be in South Africa
South Africans usually have more channels such as eTV HD while Zimbabweans are stuck with ZTV and eTV Africa (an SD channel)
Free or cheap Showmax, yes Zimbabweans pay more for Showmax than South Africans who either get it for free or pay less than half the price. The official nonsense you get from Multichoice Zimbabwe’s reps is that Showmax is not officially supported here even though it lists Zimbabwe as one of the countries it’s available in
Much stuff comes first in South Africa. Yeah some premier sports are not shown on DSTV Zimbabwe but on South African packages.

NB

This is where we point out its illegal blah blah blah to subscribe to DSTV South Africa when you are in Zimbabwe.
We also feel compelled to add that despite what they may have told you, DSTV has no way to tell if your decoder is in Zimbabwe and not South Africa, it’s not possible to do this because your decoder has no way of talking to DSTV and rat out its location unless you connect it to the internet.
How can I get Showmax if I cannot connect my decoder to the internet you ask? Well, use Chromecast or an Android TV box/TV like a normal person you caveman.