Multichoice Namibia, owners of pay-tv subscription service DStv, says it has no immediate plans to unbundle some of its sports and movie channels.
This comes amid rumors that started in June that Multichoice was testing a product called DStv Flex, a new way of packaging its channels that would see customers have more control over which channels they want to pay for.
According to South African media, DStv Flex will not really allow one to choose specific channels and pay for them, instead one will pay for a base package and then have the option to choose from themed bouquets instead of the traditional bouquets.
“We understand that our customers believe they would pay less when they choose their own mix of channels. Unfortunately, this is not the case – it works out cheaper for our customers when we group channels into packages. This is because, on their own, channels are incredibly expensive, especially Premium channels that air the latest series/movies you get to see first,” Multichoice Namibia Corporate Affairs Manager Levana Cloete said in response to The Brief.
She said the company’s current packages were the most cost-effective solution that allow subscribers access to various channels.
“To keep our services affordable, we spread these costs across our customers by bundling them into packages. If you were able to choose your channels, your unique combination might not be a popular one, so the cost would be spread over a handful of like-minded people and it would thus be more expensive. A lot more expensive, in fact. The only way we’re able to make our services affordable is to package channels in a way that suits groups of customers, so we can spread the costs,” Cloete said.
Commenting on when MultiChoice Namibia is planning to launch Dstv Internet in Namibia, she said: “We follow a phased approach with how we roll out our products in every market and our customers will be notified once this service is available in Namibia.”
DStv Internet, which was launched last month in South Africa, is a fixed wireless access service that offers internet services using a SIM card and Wi-Fi router targeting users who do not have fibre in their residential area but want to access the internet regularly using various devices in their home.
The move, according to the MultiChoice Group, is part of its ongoing evolution from a traditional video entertainment business.
