Battle for sports rights

PAY-TV: CRACKS START APPEARING IN DSTV'S LAST STRONGHOLD

- Moneyweb

The announcement seemed innocuous enough. At the beginning of October, Disney+ added its ESPN and ESPN2 live channels to its app at no extra cost.

This is the first time a live-stream of a traditional pay-TV sports channel has been available in South Africa from a provider other than DStv.

The move, which brings the Disney+ streaming app in line with its other markets globally, allows subscribers to stream live leagues, including the EFL Championship (the second-tier competition below the Premier League), the Scottish Premiership, the Dutch Eredivisie, Saudi Premier League, as well as US sports such as the NFL, NBA and NHL.

Pre-Disney+ options

Last year, MultiChoice Group-owned DStv tried to mop up additional demand that wasn't met by its standard packages by offering a standalone Premier League plan on Showmax.

It later added PSL games (the Betway Premiership) to this offering, which starts at R99 per month. At launch, the price point was R69 a month.

The plan is available across the continent, which is incredibly important to the league. Premier League CEO Richard Masters has said that about 20% of TV audiences on any given matchday come from Africa.

Currently, a Premier League enthusiast can get access via the Showmax plan (also from MultiChoice) for R99 a month.

Contrast this with a DStv Compact streaming-only package that costs R399 per month (or R479 per month with a decoder).

Sport is fundamental to DStv's future

New owner Canal+ knows this. The neat overlap of both group's operations across the continent - there isn't a single market where they are both active, aside from Mauritius - means it will be able to bid for sports rights for the whole continent going forward.

Given its popularity, the Premier League is a must-have. So too is the Uefa Champions League.