DSTV drops Winter Olympics coverage

With the Olympic Winter Games starting in Milan, Italy, on Friday, it emerged that pay-TV broadcaster DSTV’s SuperSport will not broadcast the event.

The announcement landed hard among sports fans, especially because South Africa is sending its biggest-ever Winter Olympics team of five athletes to the Games. For a country where snow is rare and winter sports face major infrastructure challenges, this year’s delegation is historic. Yet viewers will have no way to watch their athletes compete on DStv.

According to reports, MultiChoice says no official media rights holder is listed for South Africa.

A spokesperson for MultiChoice told MyBroadband that there wouldn’t be live coverage or highlights on Catch Up.

The South African athletes competing at the event are Lara Markthaler (giant slalom, slalom and alpine skiing), Nicole Burger (skeleton), Matt Smith (cross-country skiing), Malica Malherbe (freestyle skiing) and Thomas Weir (alpine skiing).

According to MultiChoice, currently no official media rights holder is listed for South Africa, with the Olympics’ website still marked as “TBC” for the territory. Still, fans argue that SuperSport has always fought hard to secure rights to global events and expected the same commitment now.

The silence from the broadcaster has left subscribers confused and irritated. Many premium subscribers have accused MultiChoice of breaking their trust for failing to show the Winter Olympics with a historic South African team representing the country at the games. Whether it is rugby, soccer, cricket, tennis, boxing, golf, motorsport, or athletics, if there is a big sporting event, it is sure to be on SuperSport, they believed.

What’s worse, is that company did not informed subscribers.

Industry analysts see this moment as part of a much bigger trend. MultiChoice, now under Groupe Canal+, is tightening its sports rights spending. That shift is already raising concerns among long-time supporters, as SuperSport’s all-in-one sports catalogue has always been the company’s strongest business advantage.

The numbers tell the story. DStv has shed 2.8 million customers in just two years. Revenue has dropped from R58.42 billion in 2023 to R49.98 billion. The Premium segment, once its most valuable asset, has been declining steadily since Netflix arrived in South Africa in 2016.

Late last night, IOC member Anant Singh and IOC honorary member Sam Ramsamy confirmed in a statement that South Africans will now be able to watch Team South Africa live as they compete in the Winter Olympics events.  

The International Olympic Committee has made available live coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games to South African audiences on its online platforms, Olympics.com and its Youtube channel.  

Singh and Ramsamy said, “This year sees the biggest ever South African delegation participating in the Winter Olympics. We are delighted that people at home in South Africa will be able to share the excitement of Team South Africa competing in the 2026 Winter games in real time. We wish Team South Africa well.”