Multichoice-owned pay-tv service DSTV has attracted discontent from  customers in countries including Kenya and South Africa over new restrictions introduced on its DSTV Now streaming app.

In the changes set to take effect on March 22, streaming on DSTV will be limited to one device at a time. This poses a challenge to users today in connected households, who prefer to enjoy tailored content experiences on multiple devices including phones, smart TVs, tablets and laptops.

Where one person is watching football, for instance, another in the same household might be unable to watch cartoons or soap operas on a different device. To enjoy content on multiple devices simultaneously, you’ll have to download content for offline viewing on one of the devices.

Customers will still be allowed to have up to 4 devices registered for streaming. It will not affect viewing on decoders. Customers can view DSTV on up to 3 decoders linked to the same subscription on Xtraview.

In a FAQ accompanying the announcement, DSTV explained;

“It (the change) is one of many ongoing measures to counteract password sharing and privacy.”

“Yes, the change will be made to all DSTV subscriptions across Africa, however, only customers making use of more than one concurrent stream will be directly affected by the change.”

DSTV will not limit the number of users who can login using the same subscription. It will, however, limit those who can stream concurrently.

There will be no related change to the pricing of DSTV subscriptions.

The changes will also notably not affect Multichoice’s Showmax streaming service –  which includes local and international movies, series and live sports.

DSTV has in recent years been countering the threat posed to is bottom line by streaming services and i*****l streaming of live sports.

The new restrictions have, however attracted negative sentiments from DSTV customers across the continent, particularly Kenya and South Africa

Some reactions after the announcement:

“I’ve had @dstv since 2004, I’m going to cancel my subscription because you are only allowing one device to stream at a time. I don’t care what inconvenience I have to face to watch SA sport. Your monopoly won’t last much longer,” – @AlisterSouth said.

“I have never seen a company actively strive to lose its customers as much as possible as DStv has,” – @Krashnanas shared.

“South Africans need to be serious about boycotting DStv,” – @SneMzilikazi added.

“#DStv limiting the number of streaming devices from 4 to 1 from 22nd March. Driven by greed as a result of losing subscribers. Well, that’s the end of my DStv subscription. DStv content quality is poor and other streaming services already available at a fraction of the cost,” – @shun_pillay commented.