ESPN Lands on Disney+ South Africa Without Price Hike
This means South Africans have one more place to get live sports from.
Disney+ hasn’t exactly had it easy lately. In the U.S., the platform has been caught in the crossfire of political backlash and subscriber losses to the point that it recently pushed up subscription prices.
But instead of hiking fees everywhere else too, Disney has taken a different approach in South Africa: introducing ESPN and ESPN2 at no additional cost, a move that could reshape the local streaming market.
That means subscribers on both the Premium and Mobile plans (as long as the 18+ setting is enabled) can stream live international sports, including football, basketball, rugby, and American leagues, along with studio shows and documentaries, without a price increase.
Emmanuel Umahi
On the surface, it looks like a simple “value add” for subscribers. But the timing is notable. MultiChoice’s DStv, the home of SuperSport and long-time king of African sports broadcasting, has been under pressure. Viewership has been slipping, and the company even floated the idea of “unbundling” SuperSport as a separate service to keep customers interested. If Disney+ is expanding into live sports just as DStv is considering restructuring, it poses a new challenge for MultiChoice.
And here’s where price comes in. The cheapest Disney+ subscription in South Africa costs R49 per month for the Disney+ Mobile plan. DStv is pricier, with sports bundled into tiers. While the ultra-basic EasyView plan only offers SuperSport Blitz for news and highlights, the Access plan (R150 on decoder or R99 streaming) is the first to add dedicated channels like SuperSport LaLiga and SuperSport Football. Full coverage of major leagues, however, only comes with higher packages that can climb past R800 ($40) a month.
Even if MultiChoice does eventually unbundle SuperSport, it may be forced to rethink its pricing model if it wants to compete with Disney’s “sports at no extra cost” pitch.
Still, it’s not an outright win for Disney+ yet. Sports fans are loyal, and SuperSport has decades of local dominance, broadcasting everything from PSL football to cricket and rugby. Disney+ is currently offering global sports, which is a big deal, but it might not immediately replace the local experience fans get from DStv. The big question is whether Disney plans to keep ESPN free forever or if it’s just a temporary sweetener to lure more sign-ups.
Either way, this move signals that streaming is ready to take on one of TV’s last strongholds: live sports. And for South African viewers, that means more choice, more flexibility, and maybe, finally, a chance to watch the big leagues without breaking the bank.
Louis Eriakha
