DStv can be expensive and while many South Africans enjoy the service, many more say they can live without it – especially if they’re in a financial pinch. However, according to financial planning expert David Kop* – this can actually cost you money instead, especially if you love your sports.
My Broadband reports via Finweek that a recent consultation by Kop with a client in financial trouble reveals just that. Kop had advised his client to cut DStv to save on some cash, however when his client became ‘disconnected’ at the thought Kop sensed a bigger issue.
“It turns out he was a massive sports fan and had to ensure that he watched his team playing live,” says Kop.
Without live sports on his tv in the comfort of his lounge, Kop’s client would instead have to go to restaurants or pubs to catch the game – also catching expensive food and drink while he was at it.
Kop says that it would have his client much more money in the long run than what he would have saved from cutting the service.
“Although I saw DStv as a luxury, to him it was his essential entertainment and actually saved him money,” Kop concludes.
South Africa Worships Sport
South Africa is a sporting nation. A nation historically united by sport. The love of the game is intrinsically woven into South African DNA, into the red of the country’s multi-coloured flag. Winning a world cup or hosting a major worldwide tournament unifies the nation and soothes the bitterness and frustrations that inevitably bubble up to the surface.
The IAB polled about 5900 South African sports fans in 2017 and found that “over a third of respondents claimed that following sport is the best part of their day/week,” and that the relationships people have with their mobile phones are directly influenced by their access to their favoured sport – this translates into more South Africans than ever are engaging with their smartphones, and they’re doing it to never miss out on that goal or try or wicket.
A 2018 study on South African football fans found that going to sporting events, watching sports and being involved in the football environment was directly proportional to their life satisfaction and meaning – the more a fan engaged with their sporting environment and community, the more satisfactory and meaningful they found their lives.
DStv Premium Lives and Dies on Sport
The biggest reason for the growth of DStv premium is its sporting content. SuperSport offers DStv subscribers excellent live coverage of the world’s most important sporting events. From Super Rugby to the Premier and the UEFA Champions Leagues. To watch all this content from your home legally and quickly you’ll need that DStv subscription.
To South African sports fans, DStv’s coverage and convenience is not a luxury that can be cut whenever pennies have to be pinched, but rather a necessity to give meaning to their lives. So popular is watching sport on DStv that MultiChoice can do whatever they want with its pricing, which is expected to increase in 2020.
*EDIT: On 5 March 2020, My Broadband rescinded the information about David Kop and his client. After the article was published, Kop claimed that the information about his client was misinterpreted by My Broadband. My Broadband has since apologised. You can read their response here.
Edited by Luis Monzon
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