For South Africans paying DSTV Premium at R899/month (~R10,800/year), or stacking DSTV + Showmax + Netflix to cover sport + entertainment, SMART OTT consolidates it all into one annual subscription — ~R1,200/year (about $60 USD) for SABC, e.tv, the full DSTV bouquet, SuperSport (PSL, Rugby, Cricket SA, F1), plus international content. For South African expats in UK, Australia, USA, Canada: your local channels without dependency on satellite imports.
What South Africa customers get
- Free-to-air South Africa: SABC 1, SABC 2, SABC 3, SABC News, e.tv, eMovies, eExtra, eToonz, OpenView channels
- DSTV bouquet: M-Net, M-Net Movies (Premiere/Action/Comedy/Family), Sundance Channel, Discovery TLC, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Brit, BBC Earth, BBC First
- SuperSport (DSTV Sport): SuperSport Soccer, SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport LaLiga, SuperSport Variety 1, 2, 3, 4, SuperSport Cricket, SuperSport Rugby, SuperSport Motorsport, SuperSport Tennis, SuperSport Golf, SuperSport Action
- South African news: SABC News, eNCA, BusinessDay TV, Newzroom Afrika, Africa News, CGTN Africa, Channel Africa
- South African entertainment: Mzansi Magic, Mzansi Wethu, Channel O, MTV Base, Trace Urban, Trace Naija, BET Africa, Sony Channel
- African content (sub-Saharan): M-Net Series, Africa Magic Yoruba, Africa Magic Igbo, Africa Magic Hausa, RTI 1 (Côte d'Ivoire), KBC (Kenya), Botswana TV, Zambia National Broadcasting
- Kids South Africa: Cartoon Network Africa, Disney Channel Africa, Nickelodeon Africa, Boomerang Africa, JimJam, BabyTV
- VOD South African + African: Local films (Tsotsi, District 9), Mzansi soap operas (Generations, Skeem Saam, Uzalo, Scandal!), Showmax-style series, African film catalog
SMART OTT vs local options
| Service | 1-year cost | Channels | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSTV Premium (top tier) | R10,800+/year | ~190 | Full SuperSport |
| DSTV Compact Plus | R6,500/year | ~140 | Most sport |
| DSTV Compact | R5,000/year | ~115 | Limited sport |
| Showmax Pro (Showmax + sport) | R3,000/year | VOD + EPL | Partial sport |
| Showmax + Netflix combined | R3,500/year | VOD only | No live sport |
| SMART OTT Elite | ~R1,200 | 700K+ | Everything |
| SMART OTT Infinity 4K | ~R1,600 | 1.7M+ | Everything + 4K |
Setup in South Africa
Setup is identical in South Africa. Firestick (~R900 at Takealot or Amazon), Apple TV 4K, or Samsung/LG Smart TV. Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Rain fiber and LTE-Advanced handle 4K HEVC. Most metropolitan SA has FTTH; rural and townships often LTE-A or satellite. Load shedding affects continuity — keep a UPS for your router during prime sport hours.
- Amazon Firestick — most popular IPTV device, available locally.
- Samsung Smart TV — Tizen native apps, no extra hardware.
- LG Smart TV — webOS native apps.
- Android TV box — full Google Play, recommended for power users.
- Apple TV 4K — premium tier.
ISP recommendations
- Vumatel / Octotel / Frogfoot fiber (open access) — Excellent. Most extensive fiber networks across SA metros.
- Vodacom Fiber — Very good. Strong urban presence.
- MTN Fiber — Very good.
- Telkom LTE-A / Fiber — Good. Improving.
- Rain 5G — Excellent in covered areas. Great alternative to fiber.
- LTE / 4G in rural areas — Sufficient for HD. Variable for 4K.