The Biggest Pay TV operators in Africa by subscribers

According to the latest data from Digital TV Research, China’s StarTimes and South Africa’s Multichoice are the two largest Pay TV operators in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While Multichoice owns and operates DStv and GOtv in Africa, StarTimes owns and operates a digital terrestrial TV service called StarTimes and a 20% stake in direct broadcast satellite TV service, StarSat, owned by a South African satellite television provider.

DStv and GOtv, with a combined subscriber base of 14.5 million as of 2019, make Multichoice the leading Pay TV operator in the region, while StarTimes/StarSat is currently the second biggest with a combined total of 9.1 million Pay TV subscribers, according to the data.

Although StarTimes/StarSat is projected to see significant growth in its subscriber base to 14.5 million by 2025, DStv/GOtv is expected to still be the largest Pay TV channel with a combined total of 18.05 million by 2025, the research revealed.