MultiChoice at 30
MultiChoice was launched 30 years ago and has grown into Africa’s largest entertainment business through its DStv, Showmax, and Supersport offerings.
MultiChoice has its roots in M-Net, founded by Naspers in 1995 in partnership with South African media businesses.
Former Naspers CEO Koos Bekker was the man behind M-Net, which launched its first services in October 1986.
M-Net offered 12 hours of daily programming and had the live broadcasting rights to the Currie Cup rugby tournament.
Upon launch, around 500 households had M-Net decoders. The company targeted 9,000 new decoder activations per month.
By September 1987, M-Net’s decoders were in 50,000 homes. Half a year later, that number grew to 100,000.
In 1989, M-Net rolled out three new channels aimed at specific target markets, including a dedicated sports channel, SuperSport and a kids channel, K-TV.
The company was listed on the JSE at R1.00 per share in 1990. In 1992, it launched analogue channels in 20 African countries.
Bekker divided M-Net into separate divisions. One focused on transmitting entertainment channels, and the other on cellular operations, signal distribution, and subscriber management.
The latter would become MultiChoice, under which Naspers launched Digital Satellite Television (DStv) in South Africa in October 1995.
DStv initially offered 16 channels, including M-Net, SuperSport, K-TV, Cartoon Network, CNN, SkyNews, ESPN, Hallmark, VH1, and TNT. It also boasted a 40-channel DMX audio service.
It saw much slower adoption than M-Net, with around 10,000 decoder activations by November 1996. However, it quickly gained momentum.
By February 1998, DStv had amassed 70,000 subscribers across the continent. Just four months later, that number had jumped to 215,000 in sub-Saharan Africa.
In South Africa, DStv became a must-have for households that could afford it. By 2006, MultiChoice South Africa had 1.5 million subscribers.
From 2011 to 2019, subscriber numbers more than doubled, going from 3.5 million to 7.2 million.
Today, MultiChoice has 16.7 million DStv subscribers – 7.8 million in South Africa and 8.9 million in the rest of Africa.
SuperSport is a global leader in sports broadcasting, offering DStv subscribers access to all prominent local and international sporting events.
Here is a look at MultiChoice’s evolution and growth over the last three decades.
1995 — MultiChoice is formed
MultiChoice is formed to oversee subscriber management, signal distribution, and cellphone operations.
MultiChoice Africa has established offices in Namibia, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.
It adds franchises in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola, Ethiopia and Mozambique. By this stage, SuperSport becomes a 24-hour-a-day channel.
MultiChoice introduced digital technology to the continent with the launch of DStv. This satellite service is one of the first to exist outside of the United States and allows MultiChoice to reach even remote regions while delivering exceptional quality.
As MultiChoice is operating in a digital realm (and increasingly so as the years go on), security becomes paramount.
This task falls to Irdeto, a company focused on protecting digital platforms and applications for media and entertainment, games, connected transport and IoT connected industries.
1997 — Multichoice invests in Irdeto
MIH purchased 49% of Irdeto in early 1997, and the rest was acquired later that year. Irdeto was founded in 1969 and has grown into a powerhouse with more than 15 offices and 400 customers in 75+ countries.
2005 — MultiChoice launches its first PVR
MultiChoice launched its first Personal Video Recorder (PVR) decoder in 2005. It’s not only the first PVR device from Africa but also the first dual-view PVR in the world.
2010 — DStv Catch Up is launched
DStv Catch Up — a video-on-demand service that lets subscribers watch anything from series to kids’ shows, documentaries, sports highlights and movies — is launched. The app also lets users watch what they want, when they want, even while away from home.
2011 — GOtv is launched
Digital became the playing field of modern entertainment, which led to MultiChoice launching GOtv in 2011.
This digital terrestrial television platform brought affordable entertainment to customers across 11 countries throughout the continent.
BoxOffice was also introduced, allowing DStv and non-DStv customers to rent the hottest movies — either at home or on the move.
Content can be viewed on a PVR, streamed directly from the dedicated website or via the DStv Desktop Player.
2013 — The DStv Explora arrives
The DStv Explora, a flagship PVR that won the Most Innovative Product of the Year award in 2015, was launched in 2013.
2014 — DStv Now app is launched
The DStv Now app released in 2014. It let customers enjoy their favourite TV channels on the go on a tablet or smartphone.
2015 — Showmax is launched
Showmax, an internet-TV service, was introduced to the market in 2015 and soon expanded to 70 countries.
Showmax allows customers to stream content for a single monthly fee through their decoder, via web browsers, or by using apps for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players, and gaming consoles.
2016 — DStv Explora 2 launched
MultiChoice announced the launch of the new DStv Explora in 2016, an updated version of its highly regarded Explora decoder.
2017 — Enhanced DStv Catch Up launched
To ensure customers do not miss any of their favourite shows, MultiChoice enhanced the DStv Catch Up offering in 2017.
It boosted the connected experience by launching a 1,000-movie catalogue on DStv Catch Up Plus, giving connected subscribers access to 1,000 movies and integrating Showmax on the Explora.
2018 — Strong Subscriber Growth
More than 500,000 new customers were added, which saw MultiChoice approach the 7 million mark in 2018.
Its online properties were also gaining traction, and to increase access to DStv Now it opened it to all bouquet tiers including offering Showmax to Premium tier at no extra charge.
2019 — HD Decoder Launch
In 2019, MultiChoice launched a new model of the DStv HD Decoder 6-series. The new model has the same user-friendly functionalities as the HD Decoder 5-series.
While DStv’s new decoder retains most of its predecessor’s features, it has a few differences.
MultiChoice Group Limited (MCG) listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The listed MCG includes MultiChoice South Africa (MCSA).
It also includes MultiChoice Africa Holdings (MAH), Showmax, as well as the global digital platform security provider Irdeto, and all their subsidiaries and affiliates.
2020 — DStv Premiership Sponsorship
Dr Irvin Khoza and MultiChoice announced that DStv would be the new sponsor of the South African Premiership football tournament, effectively rebranding the league as the DStv Premiership.
MultiChoice acquired a 20% stake in Nigerian online sports betting company KingMakers to expand its entertainment ecosystem.
2021 — DStv Explora Ultra decoder launched
MultiChoice launched the new DStv Explora Ultra decoder in 2021, which offers DStv subscribers access to video streaming services Netflix and Showmax.
It also enhanced its digital customer service through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot, called The Ultimate Master of Information, or T.U.M.I.
MultiChoice increased its share in Kingmakers to 49%, in line with launching the BetKing platform to its South African customers.
It also launched DStv Internet to provide Internet access to those who do not have access to fibre services.
2022 — Disney+ partnership
MultiChoice announced that it would bring Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, Disney+, to DStv subscribers in South Africa.
It launched the DStv Streama, a compact streaming box that supports 4K video with HDR 10 and Dolby Atmos virtual surround sound.
2023 — Moment launched
MultiChoice Group, Rapyd, and General Catalyst announced a joint venture to develop an integrated payment platform for Africa. The joint venture now operates under a new company called Moment.
It partnered with Comcast to build on MultiChoice’s footprint across 50 markets, its excellent execution track record on the continent, and the successful Showmax brand.
MultiChoice also announced the rebranding of its streaming-only pay-TV service as DStv Stream. The all-inclusive entertainment platform brings customers the best sport, local and international content.
2024 — Showmax 2.0 launched
MultiChoice’s upgraded Showmax, known as Showmax 2.0, offers a much-improved interface and responsive performance on par with major international streaming services.
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