Dstv does not have value for money

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Do you have Dstv? What channels do you watch frequently? I bet it is one of the local TV stations; either NTV, KTN or Citizen. We buy Pay TVs for different reasons, some buy them to watch movies, others to watch documentaries, some for cartoons (children channels) and a few  others for sports. Real sports fans watch their matches in pubs and restaurants, not at home. I have computed the cost of watching movies, sports and others and compared it against available alternatives…have a look at the figures.

Movies

To watch the best movies on Dstv, you’ll need to pay 7K shillings for premium bouquet since there’s where you get channels like Mnet Premium, Mnet East, Mnet Comedy and Mnet Action+ together with True Movies and many others. Classic series that premier on Fox are also only on the premium bouquet. Sadly, the most recent movies that show on Dstv premium (and any other bouquet) are at least six months old. On the other hand, the guys who pirate movies are able to give you HD quality movie at 50 bob each within two to three months of a movie release.

If you are paying 7K to watch movies on Dstv, then you are likely to watch an average of 10 different movies in a month (due to time and repetition of movies). Those movies would have cost you shs 500 (50*10) if you bought them from the local movie dealers (pirated ones). As much as the movies are illegal, in Kenya those who pirate the movies are given a license to do business so basically it is ok to buy them. A true movie fan will not spend 7K to watch movies on DStv (which are repeated more than necessary). So why spend Shs 6,500 extra on movies?

Sports

True fans of sports don’t watch the matches at home. The excitement in watching a football match is in watching it with others. You don’t want to shout alone in your house when your team scores a goal; so you better join your friends in bars, pubs and restaurants and spend shs 500 on drinks to watch your favorite team play. Assuming that you’ll be watching matches at least two days in a week, then in one week you’ll budget to spend shs 1,000 on drinks. That comes to shs 4K a month…still 3,000 bob cheaper than paying 7K on DStv.

Other programmes

If your interest is primarily the other entertainment options available on Pay TV (Music, Documentaries, Naija movies, News and Kids programmes), then I would say StarTimes or Zuku have cheaper alternatives as opposed to DStv. For example, StarTimes Classic Bouquet that goes for 1,000 a month is better than DStv’s Compaq Bouquet that goes for 3K a month.

ION, GoTV has been accused of blocking customers who complain on their Facebook page regarding the repetition of programmes. What GoTV and other Pay TV providers should know is that once the Digital Migration is complete, we technically won’t need their services…they should stop over repeating programmes especially movies.

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Comments

  • Odipo this not you….anyways…DSTV is the best. I am on premium over 8
    channels on HD. I love the variety and choice. The signal quality.

    Zuku
    is terrible. I took the top package. The following day i removed
    everything. Bad signal quality , repetition of programs bad customer
    support..

    At any cost..if you value couch time do not go for Zuku

    NotYetUhuru January 10, 2014 17:51
  • This post is retarded

    MKM January 12, 2014 13:07
  • True to a large extent. DSTV should price properly what with this digital system taking over

    chaichungu January 12, 2014 15:18
  • I think pay TV channels in Kenya shud invest in pay per view…we only pay for what we watch. A lot of the channels on my package are unnecessary, I only watch football, news and documentaries on tv. Their movies are outdated and yes they are ripping us off!!

    Okoth Ka'Wambura January 15, 2014 15:21
  • You just hate Dstv – what of News Channels man – can’t get my eyes from the Bloomerg Channel – and CNN, BBC, Aljazeera – throughout not when the locals channels feel like streaming them

    Peter Mutiso January 21, 2014 02:43
  • I agree. Too much repetition and old old movies esp. on Ch. 139, and the True Story channel. They have been a monopoly for too long! Even their customer service used to be bad (phones would ring endlessly), but siku hizi wanajaribu kidogo!

    Ihatepolitix February 20, 2014 18:21
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