MultiChoice is reducing the number of channels available on DStv’s optional Add Indian package, removing five services from the US$16.78 monthly add-on from 31 October 2026.
Customers were notified of the changes by email on 30 September, with MultiChoice saying it was refining the channel line-up to better reflect how subscribers consume content.
The five channels being removed are SET Asia, Zee TV, SET Max, Zee Cinema and WION. Following the changes, the Add Indian package will retain three channels: Star Plus, Star Vijay and Colors TV.
MultiChoice said the strategy is to move away from distributing similar content across a larger number of channels and instead concentrate on “fewer, stronger channels”. The company said the streamlined package is intended to provide subscribers with a simpler navigation experience while continuing to offer Indian entertainment.
The reduction is significant because the Indian package has been part of DStv’s offering for more than two decades. First introduced as the Indian Bouquet in 2001, the service has been repeatedly restructured and rebranded as MultiChoice has responded to changing audience behaviour and demand.
The package was consolidated in 2015 when DStv’s North Indian and South Indian offerings were combined into a single Indian package. At the time, MultiChoice highlighted the importance of South Africa’s Indian audience to its content strategy.
The latest reduction points to a different phase in the evolution of specialist pay-TV packages. Rather than continuing to expand the number of channels available within a niche offering, operators are increasingly assessing which services generate sufficient viewing value to justify their place in the line-up.
For MultiChoice, the decision also reflects the broader pressure on traditional pay-TV operators to make channel packages easier to navigate while controlling distribution and content costs. Fewer channels can potentially simplify the customer proposition while allowing the operator to concentrate investment and carriage capacity around services with stronger perceived value.
Subscribers will continue to have access to Indian entertainment through the three remaining channels, while MultiChoice said customers with the Add Movies subscription will retain access to Hollywood content through M-Movies+ and M-Movies Stars.
