MultiChoice recently extended its Catch Up service to its DStv Compact and Extra subscribers with Explora decoders. Previously, it was only available to those on the Premium package.
DStv’s Catch Up lets subscribers watch episodes of series, movies, or sports events on-demand for a specific period.
The content available via Catch Up is dependent on the package a subscriber is on. Compact customers, for example, will see Catch Up content that has been screened on channels available on DStv Compact.
To get an idea of the differences between the three packages with Catch Up, as well as DStv Family which does not have Catch Up, we compared the channels available on each bouquet.
The prices of the four packages are as follows:
  • DStv Premium: R699 per month
  • DStv Extra: R425 per month
  • DStv Compact: R319 per month
  • DStv Family: R199 per month
Subscription fees exclude the DStv PVR access fee of R80 per month, which subscribers must pay to use their decoder’s PVR features – including DStv Box Office and Catch Up.
The table below shows the channels which are common on all four packages. Channels marked with an (*) are simulcast in high definition.
DStv channels common between DStv Premium, Extra, Compact, and Family
Movies & Entertainment
SonyAMCAfrica Magic Epic MoviesUniversal Channel *SABC Encore
Sony MaxKykNet & KieAfricaMagic FamilyTelemundo
CBS RealityKykNet MusiekAfricaMagic WorldM-Net Movies Zone
CBS ActionMzansi WethuZEE WorldM-Net Family
CBS DramaMzansi BioskopGlow TVBET 2 International
Documentaries & Lifestyle
VIAThe Home ChannelNat Geo WildTRACE Sports StarsED
TLCFashion TVDiscovery WorldIgnition TV
Free-to-air
SABC 1SABC 3Soweto TV1KZNCape Town TV
SABC 2E-TVBay TVTshwane TVLesotho TV
Sport
SuperSport BlitzSuperSport SelectTellyTrack
Kids & Teen
Cartoon NetworkNicktoonsJimJam
BoomerangDisney JuniorMindset
Music
Channel OMzansi MusicOne Gospel
Religion
DumisaFaithRhemaiTV
News & Commerce
BBC World NewsAl JazeeraCCTV NewsBusinessDay TV
SABC NewsRussia TodayCNBC AfricaNDTV
ANN7Parliamentary ServiceWeather 24

Channels only available on Premium

The table below highlights the channels you get on each package above DStv Family.
Not shown are specialist and foreign channels, which are mostly limited to DStv Premium, as well as audio channels.
Some DMX audio channels are only available on DStv Compact and up, while all the radio stations available through DStv are on all packages.
Compact and upExtra and upPremium only
Movies & EntertainmentMovies & EntertainmentMovies & Entertainment
M-Net Movies ActionComedy CentralM-Net *
M-Net Movies StarsE! Entertainment ChannelM-Net Edge *
Studio UniversalFox *M-Net Movies Premiere *
M-Net CityFox CrimeM-Net Movies Comedy *
VuzuTrue MoviesM-Net Movies Family *
BBC BritKykNetM-Net Movies Action Plus *
MTVAfrica Magic Urban MoviesM-Net Movies Romance *
Mzansi MagicDocumentaries & LifestyleM-Net Movies Showcase *
Ebony Life TVCrime & InvestigationVuzu Amp *
Documentaries & LifestyleTravelITV Choice
Discovery IDHistoryBET International
BBC LifestyleKids & TeenLifetime
Food NetworkNickelodeonAfricaMagic Showcase
National GeographicC-BeebiesDocumentaries & Lifestyle
Animal PlanetMusicDiscovery Channel *
SportVH1 ClassicBBC Earth
SuperSport 3 *News & CommerceSport
SuperSport 4 *Sky NewsSuperSport 1 *
SuperSport 9 *SuperSport 2 *
Kids & TeenSuperSport 5 *
Disney XDSuperSport 6 *
MusicSuperSport 7 *
MTV BaseSuperSport 8 *
News & CommerceSuperSport Maximo
CNNKids & Teen
eNCADisney
Nick Jr.
News & Commerce
Bloomberg