Pay-TV services are under big pressure from Netflix and Amazon around the world.
MultiChoice, DStv’s parent, has said that satellite TV is an established, mature industry “looking out over a cliff” thanks to the proliferation of streaming services.
The situation is no different in developed economies like the US, where traditional pay-TV providers in the US experienced a record 3.7% drop in subscribers during 2017.
eMarketer added that 186.7 million adults in the US will watch traditional pay-TV in 2018, representing a 3.8% decline compared to the year before.
There are several reasons for the shift, one of which is the nature of services like Netflix – which let you choose when and where you watch content.
Linear TV does not do this, and you must ensure you are watching the right channel at the correct time to catch your favourite show or movie.
The biggest factor, however, is price.
Leichtman Research Group reported that pay-TV subscribers in the US were spending around $107 per month on their packages. Netflix’s HD service is available for $11 in the US.
The pricing discrepancy is similar in Nigeria, South Africa, and other African countries where DStv’s top package Premium costs N15,800/ R809 per month – while Netflix is available from $7.99/ R99 per month.
Pricing and Packages
To see just how big the price gap between streaming services and pay-TV packages is, we compared the prices of DStv Premium and Netflix.
For the comparison, we looked at how much money you would save in one year if you cancelled DStv Premium and switched to Netflix for entertainment.
The packages compared were the following:
- Netflix Standard – $9.99/ N3,300 /R139 per month. This offers all content in full HD, which can be watched on two devices.
- DStv Premium – N15,800/ R809 per month. This is DStv’s top package which offers all the base channels.
Other pricing elements which were taken into account are:
- The first month of Netflix is free. One year’s cost is therefore 11 months’ subscription.
- The DStv Premium price excludes the Access Fee of R90/N2500 per month. This provides access to PVR usage and DStv Now.
For this comparison, we have included the DStv Access Fee – bringing the total monthly cost to N18,200/R899per month.
Users must also take into account that Netflix does not offer live sport and news, which DStv does. This may affect a user’s content consumption and make a simple switch to Netflix unpalatable.
How Much You Save
This is how much you’ll save over the cause of a year.
| Service | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
| DStv Premium | N18,200 / R899 | N218,400 / R10,788 |
| Netflix Standard | $9.99 / N3300 / R139 | N36,300 / R1,529 |
| Total Savings Annually | N182,100 / R9,259 | |
Along with the results, it must be noted that the price of a home Internet connection is not included in the calculation.
Let me go and do proper calculation
182k na something
Why cant we just get an online TV and use it to stream all the live stuffs we want to watch?? Won’t that be cheaper?
With dstv u have options of watching different entertainment..if not that dstv na nonsense u will watch same thing from January till December
The price gap is so huge
I’m not paying for any ☺
when u add the network subscription u will find out that dstv is still better
Dats just d koko…assuming we v affordable unlimited plans here it would v be better
Thank you Yomi,
I have ditched my DStv decoder since last year. My family now watch Netflix which is far better.
On the data side, with Ntel unlimited I get better deal than using DStv. I watched all football matches that even DStv will not show. Equally use same data for all household gadgets and ofcoz for my work.
Subscription to DStv is a waste in my opinion
You also have to buy data to watch Netflix, imagine steaming for 3hrs straight
Me DSTV N6800 monthly
there are still some ‘buts’ in all this. Like the internet connection fee, the lack of live sports and other channel genres. 8 believe Streaming platforms will thrive but pay TV will still be around for a long time to come.
DSTV are criminals
Well enough from gotv…
Not a subscriber of both…
Nice share Prof, this is alarming how much the difference in price. Yes news and Sports is a big factor but added to some other streaming services won’t be up to half of the DStV package billing. So DStV is just to expensive, they need the pressure this is putting on them to come back to earth where we are
The review is good. But considering internet availablity and subscription it makes dstv to have a place continually. For instance, If am in my village how do I stream Nextflix? Even in some parts of our so called city you can’t get clear signals to make WhatsApp call. Not to talk about streaming a HD video. I believe if internet availablity is serious tackled in this country will make a gaint step.
Internet is the problem. I have tv box loaded with kodi and I have other tv apps such as swiftstreamz with over 1000 channels which is far better than Dstv. But our problem is internet. In US they are using Wi-Fi. Dstv knows we have internet problem in Nigeria here.
In Nigeria I think DSTV is better
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I have an android TV box bought from Gearbest like two years ago but lack of fast internet speed at my end has rendered it useless, gathering dust .lack of news/sport is a bummer and no go area for Netflix
I will still go for dstv cos that netflix is a data stuff I can’t afford network, I believe telecom network providers are the ones sponsoring this Netflix of to get people using more data than usual.
Netflix is far far a better option than Dstv but it requires unlimited data which is not available or provided by the network provider except ntel and it does not have a nationwide coverage.
So for I’ll keep on using my Gotv
I read that hulu is cost less to netflix, is it true? Anyway, netflix or not, i’ll keep using DSTV for sports, music and other entertainment channels.
Netflix dont have Live TV
so they are a bit different
Netflix only focus on TV show and Movie
while DSTV has Movie ,TV show and Live TV
As a young man i will simply go with NETFLIX, while i stayed glued to the internet for news information and update..
But NETFLIX doesn’t cover football matches..
Though NETFLIX represent a viable option and Cost effective, it still does not offer some interesting part of our entertainment life.
How can i jettison football and other life sport shows.
Every talks Netflix in the USA its cheaper and worth it because you have the internet for free over there so pls do your calculus along the internet you will use to stream your Netflix for 1hour or download a full clear movie from them and let’s see of its still cheaper than Dstv
With d condition of Internet in Nigeria….Netflix is a no go area
Hi @Yomiprof,
Please how do I become agent /distributor of Netflix here in Anambra state.
Distributor for Netflix? Lol
They are not like dstv that has offices around O.