DStv, GOtv Drive Growth as Kenya’s Pay-TV Subscriptions Rise – CA Report
The pay-TV industry in Kenya posted impressive enrollment during the first quarter of the financial year 2025/26, with MultiChoice driven by its brands DStv and GOtv leading enrollment, based on the Sector Statistics Report by the Communications Authority of Kenya.
According to the report, the total number of broadcasting subscribers improved by 13.7 percent to reach 1.68 million subscribers as of September 2025, from the previous quarter’s 1.47 million subscribers. This indicates the efforts by theBroadcasters to aggressively acquire more subscribers, coupled with the rising competition targeting the increasingly digital population in Kenya.
Within the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) market, the major contributor to the growth of new subscribers in the sector is GOtv, which accumulated more than 129,000 new subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total number of subscriptions to 444,007. This is an increase of 41.2 percent from June 2025.
The Direct-to-Home (DTH) category also registered significant gains, with an increase of 13.9 percent to 686,604 subscribers. DStv boasted the largest increase in this category with a 43.0 percent jump in subscribers to 270,017, from 188,824 in the preceding quarter. According to analysts, this is attributed to satellite reach as well as sporting and entertainment content.
As stated in the CA, the total number of both DTT and DTH subscriptions is fueled by greater advancements in the Kenyan digital landscape. Increased smarphone uptake, faster internet, and the adoption of mobile money transaction platforms make the use of pay-TV more accessible and convenient.
Analysts have pointed out that Kenya is undergoing a shift in its broadcast industry and is adopting hybrid consumer behavior, which features both television and online platforms. This is due to technology and advances in smart TVs, high-speed Internet, and affordable devices.
Broadcasters are also scaling up their investments on the production of local content. This trend further enhances loyalty with their targeted audiences. Domestic productions of drama series and documentaries, reality programming, and sports offerings have emerged as a powerful paid subscription driver.
The industry is growing, and this is attracting more attention from advertizers, who are taking advantage of the increased penetration to roll out more targeted and engaging campaigns on both linear and digital platforms.
This is also likely to create new revenue streams for the broadcasting industry. However, looking ahead into next quarter, industry analysts feel that what will matter most for pay-TV services will be finding a balance between the need to grow subscribers quickly and the need to retain them in a highly competitive market where global and regional streaming services are competing for consumer attention and wallet shares.