Yes, you can watch DStv Now outside South Africa if you already have a DStv account: a VPN service like StreamLocator gives you a South African IP address, so DStv Stream works as if you were back home. For South Africans abroad, frequent travelers, or anyone outside the country trying to use an existing subscription, that is the difference between paying for DStv and actually being able to watch SuperSport, the South African catalogue, and the full Showmax library.
If you do not have an account yet, read the next section before you start: creating one needs a South African mobile number, and there is no way around that. This guide covers both situations honestly, including how geo-restrictions affect DStv streaming, how to set up StreamLocator, what DStv Stream costs in 2026, and what it carries now.
There is no location to pick. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) or simillar like StreamLocator is required to access DStv outside of Africa because it lets you change your virtual location to reach geo-blocked content, and to access DStv you need to connect through a south african server. From that point DStv behaves exactly as it does at home.
Worth saying plainly, because plenty of guides do not. DStv sends a one-time code to a South African mobile number as part of creating an account. It is not a soft check that a different location gets you past, and StreamLocator does not change it. If you do not have access to a South African number, you will not be able to open a new DStv account, and nothing on this page will change that.
What StreamLocator does solve is the other half of the problem, and it is the half most people actually have. If you already hold a DStv account, whether you are a South African living abroad, travelling, or on a long posting, the account is fine. What stops working is the streaming, because DStv checks where the connection is coming from. That is the part this page fixes.
DStv Stream is MultiChoice's streaming-only service, and it has replaced the old DStv Now app. There is no decoder and no dish involved: you sign in on a browser, a phone, a tablet or a smart TV and watch the same channels and catch-up library, with DStv offers now spanning over 200 channels plus live sports and general entertainment as part of its wider DStv content.
It now also carries the entire Showmax catalogue, which was folded into DStv Stream when Showmax was discontinued as a standalone service. If you came here looking for Showmax, this is where it went.
MultiChoice was acquired by Canal+ in September 2025, and prices have been held flat since, with no inflation adjustment applied through 2026.
There are five streaming packages. Two of them are cheaper on a 12-month contract, the rest are month to month only.
Compact is the tier where the SuperSport channels appear, so for most people the choice is between Compact and Premium depending on how much sport they want.
Sport. The SuperSport channels carry selected Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga and Champions League football, along with all the rugby, the cricket and Formula 1. For South African sport specifically there is no substitute for it anywhere else.
Entertainment. South African films, movies and drama, international series, the M-Net and AfricaMagic channels, documentaries, news and a full kids line-up.
The Showmax library. Now included, so the Showmax originals and the film catalogue come with the subscription rather than needing a second one.
MultiChoice licenses its content for South Africa and the surrounding region, so DStv Stream stops working outside South Africa because of content licensing agreements. Step outside that region and you get an error rather than a stream, as streaming services like DStv detect your location via your IP address, use geo-blocking to comply with regional licensing deals, and can detect non-African IP addresses even though your subscription is paid and your account is in good standing.
StreamLocator gives DStv a South African connection to look at, which is all it needs to serve you the same channels it serves at home.
If DStv does not work, use the best vpn from a reputable provider with reliable servers in South Africa, because DStv may block access if it detects VPN usage, and free VPNs are often blacklisted by streaming services.
That is the whole setup. Because DStv is a single-country service, there is no location list to work through and nothing to switch when you want to watch: StreamLocator sends DStv to South Africa automatically
Setting it up on your home wi-fi router is worth the extra five minutes if more than one person in the house watches, because it covers every device at once, including the ones that cannot run an app.
DStv and StreamLocator are separate. MultiChoice charges you for the channels and the catalogue; StreamLocator charges you for the access that reaches them from where you live. The same StreamLocator subscription works with other streaming services, so it is not money tied to DStv.
For South Africans abroad, DStv is the one service that carries the sport and the local programming nobody else licenses. Being outside the country should not cost you access to a subscription you are already paying for, though DStv still requires a valid subscription to watch while traveling abroad.
Start your free 7-day trial, set StreamLocator up once, and sign in to DStv.
Yes, if you already have a DStv account. DStv Stream only plays for connections inside South Africa, and DStv restricts content availability based on your subscription country, which is why dstv access fails abroad without the workaround. With StreamLocator running, DStv sees a south african ip address, letting you access dstv and sign in as normal. There is no location to choose, because South Africa is the only country DStv streams from. Creating a new account is a different matter, and it needs a South African mobile number.
Not without a South African mobile number. DStv sends a one-time code to a South African number as part of creating an account, and there is no way around that step. If you do not have access to one, StreamLocator cannot solve it for you. This page is written for people who already hold a DStv account, which is most of the people who ask.
Showmax has been discontinued as a separate service. Its catalogue now sits inside DStv Stream, so the films and series you used to watch on Showmax come with a DStv Stream subscription. There is nothing extra to set up: sign in to DStv with StreamLocator running and the Showmax library is there.
DStv Stream runs from R99 a month for Access up to R799 a month for Premium. Compact is R399 a month or R299 on a 12-month contract, and Premium is R699 on a 12-month contract. Prices were held flat through 2026 with no inflation adjustment.
No. They are two separate subscriptions. MultiChoice charges you for DStv, and StreamLocator charges you for the access that lets you reach it from outside South Africa. The same StreamLocator subscription works with other streaming services too.
DStv Stream runs in a browser and in the DStv apps for phones, tablets and smart TVs, with compatible devices covering a wide range of supported hardware. StreamLocator has apps for Android TV, Fire TV, amazon fire tv, Android and iOS, with app download availability on supported platforms. On anything else, including Apple TV, Roku, games consoles and computers, you copy two short lines of numbers from your StreamLocator account into the device's network settings, or into your router.
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