DStv’s fortunes in Kenya got a major boost after the firm’s active subscribers grew by 43 percent in the three months ended September this year, despite an increase in the cost of its monthly packages.  The pay television had 270,017 customers in the review period, according to industry data from Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), compared to the 188,824 it had in June this year.
The increase came despite a move by MultiChoice Kenya —the operator of DStv in Kenya— to increase the price of monthly packages by up to Sh700 from August 1 this year, in a bid to boost revenues in the local market.
DStv had suffered a hit after it lost 84 percent of its customers dropped in the year to June 2025 amid pricey monthly packages. It had 1.19 million active subscribers in June last year.Â
CA did not disclose reasons behind the recovery in the subscriber numbers which came at a time when the monthly price of DStv packages went up.
The cost of DStv Premium package rose by Sh700 to Sh11,700 from August 1 this year while the price of the Compact Plus increased to Sh7,300 from Sh6,800.
The price increase which also affected the Compact and Family packages, was the fifth in three years as MultiChoice Kenya tries to arrest the fall in revenues generated in the Kenyan market.
Subscription revenues that MultiChoice made in Kenya, when expressed as a share of the total from all markets where the firm operates, dropped to seven percent in the year ended March 2025 from eight percent a year ago.
It remains unclear on what triggered the resurgence in DStv’s customer numbers given that the firm has grappled with a mass exodus as subscribers opt for the free but illegal online streaming services.
A harsh economy characterised by near stagnant earnings and heavy taxation for workers has forced most subscribers of pay television to go for the free online streaming services.
There are currently four pay television services in Kenya. Besides DStv, the others are Star Times, Azam Tv which is owned by Tanzania’s Bakhresa Group and the Wananchi Group-owned Zuku.Â
Fortunes of the four took a hit in the year ended June 2025 when their combined subscribers tumbled by 67 percent to 602,706 subscribers from 1.84 million.
DStv accounted for the biggest drop in the period at 84 percent followed by Azam Tv at 63 percent. Star Times’ market shrank by 45 percent while that of Zuku fell by 7.2 percent.
MultiChoice Kenya slashed the cost of its decoders and installation kits by to Sh350 from the start of this month in a bid to attract new customers.
It however remains to be seen if the price reduction, which will run up to the end of this year, will further boost the resurgence in subscribers that DStv posted in the three months to September this year.
