DStv channels in short
DStv channels are tiered by package. Each tier — from EasyView (around 40+ channels) up to Premium (175+) — includes everything below it plus more. Live sport on SuperSport peaks at Premium and Compact Plus; movies on M-Net and series on Mzansi Magic and 1Magic fill out the middle tiers; kids channels start at Family; and news, docs and local channels reach almost every tier. This page maps it all by content type. For the wider picture — prices, decoders and how to watch — see our complete DStv guide.
How the DStv Channel Line-Up Is Built
DStv doesn't sell channels one by one — it sells bundles tied to a package tier. The tiers stack: every higher package includes all the channels of the tiers beneath it and adds more on top. So the quickest way to understand what you'll get is to think in two dimensions at once — content type (sport, movies, series, kids, news, local) and tier (where that content unlocks). A news channel like CNN reaches almost everyone; a full set of SuperSport channels only appears near the top.
Below we walk through the line-up by content type first, then give you a single package-by-package table. If you also want to know what each tier costs, that sits in our DStv packages and prices breakdown. And if sport is the deciding factor, the DStv sport and SuperSport guide goes deeper on which matches land on which channel.
DStv Channels by Content Type
Here is the full line-up grouped the way people actually watch, with a note on roughly where each group unlocks.
Live sport — SuperSport
The headline reason many households subscribe. The SuperSport family covers PSL and international football, rugby, cricket, Formula 1, golf, tennis, athletics and more across a dozen-plus dedicated channels. The full set unlocks on Premium; Compact Plus carries most of the football and rugby channels; Compact gets a selected slice; Family and below have minimal sport.
Movies — M-Net
M-Net and the DStv movie channels run first-run films and box-set premieres. The richest movie line-up sits on Premium, with a strong selection on Compact Plus and the core M-Net movie channels arriving on Compact.
Series & entertainment
M-Net, Mzansi Magic, 1Magic and international channels like BBC and global drama and lifestyle networks anchor the general-entertainment tier. Well covered from Compact upward, with the main local drama channels arriving there.
Kids & family
Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney and JimJam feature from the Family tier up — a key reason Family is the go-to package for households with young children. EasyView and Access carry only a limited kids selection.
News & documentaries
BBC News, CNN, Al Jazeera, eNCA, Sky News, National Geographic and History reach across most tiers, including entry-level Access — news and docs are the most widely available category on DStv.
Local & regional
SABC channels, Mzansi Magic, Moja Love and country-specific local content run through the line-up, and even EasyView carries a starter set of local channels, making it the broadest category by reach.
A useful rule of thumb: news, docs and local content are available to almost everyone; kids content starts mid-range; and the full sport and movie line-ups sit at the top.If you mostly watch news and local channels, a lower tier goes a long way. If you want every SuperSport channel and the complete M-Net movie set, you're looking at Premium.
DStv Channels by Package: What Each Tier Adds
This table maps each package to its approximate channel count and, more usefully, to what that tier adds over the one below it. Because the tiers stack, reading top to bottom shows exactly what you gain as you step up. Counts are indicative 2026 figures and shift as channels come and go.
| Package | Approx channels | What this tier adds |
|---|---|---|
| EasyView | 40+ | A starter set of local SABC and Moja Love channels, a few kids and news channels, and religious and music channels — the cheapest way onto DStv. |
| Access | 95+ | Broader entertainment and a full news and documentary line-up (BBC News, CNN, eNCA), plus more local and lifestyle channels. Minimal dedicated sport. |
| Family | 115+ | The main kids channels — Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, JimJam — arrive here, along with more series and general-entertainment channels. Some live sport. |
| Compact | 140+ | Mzansi Magic, 1Magic, the core M-Net movie and series channels, National Geographic, and a selected slice of SuperSport. The popular all-rounder. |
| Compact Plus | 155+ | Most SuperSport channels for football and rugby fans, plus extra movie and entertainment channels above Compact — sport without the top movie tier. |
| Premium | 175+ | Everything — the full SuperSport line-up, every M-Net movie channel, and every general-entertainment, kids, news and local channel DStv carries. |
The two tiers most people land on are Compact and Premium. Compact is the value sweet spot — Mzansi Magic, 1Magic, the core movie channels, a full news set, kids channels and a slice of sport. Premium is the everything tier. Between them, Compact Plus exists for sport fans who want most of SuperSport without paying for the top movie line-up. To see how those channel differences translate into a spend-versus-value decision, our Compact vs Premium comparison lays the two tiers side by side.
Where the Sport Channels Sit
Sport is the category where the tier you choose matters most, because the SuperSport channels are split across the top three packages. Premium carries the full family — the dedicated football, rugby, cricket, Formula 1, golf, tennis and grandstand channels, plus the premium-only content. Compact Plus is deliberately built around live sport: it carries most of the football and rugby channels, which is why it appeals to fans who don't care about the top movie tier. Compact gets a selected set aimed at general viewers rather than dedicated sport watchers, and Family and below carry only minimal or no dedicated sport.
If a specific competition is the reason you're subscribing — a football league, a rugby tournament, a cricket series — check which SuperSport channel carries it and which tier includes that channel before you pick. Our DStv sport guide breaks that down competition by competition.
Counts Change — the App Guide Is Authoritative
Every channel count on this page is a 2026 snapshot. MultiChoice regularly launches new channels, retires older ones, moves channels between tiers, and renumbers the guide. That means no published list — ours included — can be permanently exact. The one source that is always current is the channel guide inside the DStv app and DStv Self Service, which shows the live line-up for your specific package and country.
This is the same principle we apply to internet TV: a printed list ages, a live guide doesn't. That's why we keep our live channel list updated rather than freezing it in an article. Use published lists to understand the shape of a line-up — which content sits at which tier — and the app to confirm the exact channels on the day you subscribe.
Want More Channels Than Any DStv Tier Offers?
The trade-off with a tiered line-up is that the channels you want are sometimes scattered across packages — the sport on one tier, a movie channel on another. Internet-TV platforms take a different approach, bundling a far larger line-up into a single flat subscription with no dish, decoder or per-tier gatekeeping. If you find yourself pushed toward Premium just for a handful of channels, it's worth comparing the alternatives.
Our guide to the best internet-TV services weighs those options, and our DStv alternatives roundup lines them up specifically against DStv's tiers. For the full context on how DStv works overall — hardware, streaming and pricing — read the full DStv packages and channels breakdown.
DStv Channels FAQ
How many channels does DStv have?
The number depends on your package. EasyView carries roughly 40+ channels, Access around 95+, Family about 115+, Compact 140+, Compact Plus 155+, and Premium 175+ — plus dozens of audio and radio channels on top. MultiChoice adds and retires channels through the year, so treat these counts as a guide and check the channel list inside the DStv app for the exact line-up on any given day.
Which DStv package has all the SuperSport channels?
DStv Premium unlocks the full SuperSport line-up — every football, rugby, cricket, Formula 1, golf and tennis channel. Compact Plus carries most of the sport channels aimed at football and rugby fans, Compact gets a selected set, and Family and below have only minimal or no dedicated sport. If live sport is your priority, Premium or Compact Plus are the tiers to look at.
What channels do you get on DStv Compact?
Compact carries a broad general-entertainment line-up: M-Net movie and series channels, Mzansi Magic and 1Magic, international drama and lifestyle channels, kids channels like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, a full news and documentary set including BBC News, CNN and National Geographic, and local SABC and regional channels. It also includes a selected slice of SuperSport, making it the most popular all-rounder tier.
Are kids channels like Cartoon Network on every DStv package?
No. The main kids channels — Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney and JimJam — appear from the Family tier upward. EasyView and Access carry only a limited children's selection. Households with young children usually start at Family, which is one of the main reasons that tier exists.
Does the DStv channel list change?
Yes, regularly. MultiChoice launches new channels, retires old ones, moves channels between tiers, and adjusts numbering over the year. Any published list — including this one — is a snapshot. The authoritative source is the live channel guide inside the DStv app and DStv Self Service, which always reflects the current line-up for your package.
Keep reading: Complete DStv guide · DStv packages & prices · DStv sport & SuperSport · Compact vs Premium · DStv alternatives · Our live channel list · Best internet-TV services
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