How to Watch DStv Free To Air Channels In Africa [2020 Guide]

By | October 3, 2024

This is an update on How to Watch DStv Free To Air Channels In Africa [2020 Guide]. 

DStv free channels is what each and everyone has been looking for — to enjoy life during the pandemic lockdown. Here are they as ICT Catalogue brings you the latest update on Digital Satellite television free to air channels to watch in 2020.

DStv has been noted as the best direct-to-the-home satellite broadcast service in Africa, popularly in some countries like; South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Namibia, Kenya, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Mauritius, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Togo, Congo, Gabon, Swaziland and Botswana.

The satellite broadcast of DStv has dominate over Africa, especially in English-speaking countries. Not only does DStv license the best content from across Africa and the rest of the world, but it also invests massively in its own productions. This makes the service a very attractive offer to those who seek sports, entertainment and timely news.

Though DStv is a premium service that is targeting at the rich and middle-class due to its pricing. It is thus understandable that some across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Ghana, Swaziland, Ethiopia, Namibia and other parts of Africa would seek free options, especially how to install Free Channels on DStv decoders.

Check out below on how to get and watch free channels on your DStv in 2020.

How to Watch DStv Free To Air Channels In Africa [2020 Guide]

As of 2020, it is no longer possible to enable these free-to-air channels on current DStv HD decoders. DStv has not enabled this option on newer models of their decoders, unlike previous decoder models.

However, you can enjoy free channels in South Africa without an active DStv subscription:

  • Dish on TV – Channel 100
  • People’s Weather – Channel 180
  • VOOV TV – Channel 196

Almost-Free EasyView

In South Africa, some can be unlocked, for R29 per month, and these are the 37 TV channels including SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, etv HD, eExtra, Soweto TV, bayTV, KZN TV, tTV, CapeTV, Gau TV).

The motive of this article is not to pay for any subscription, but to watch free DStv channels in Africa in 2020.

DStv Now

This broadcast service is an Internet streaming service that is intended for DStv subscribers to enjoy their subscription on their smartphones (android and iOS users) and tablets but has recently been extended to TV sets through Apple TV, Android TV, as well as apps on select Samsung and LG smart TVs.

DStv has made it possible to enjoy some limited TV programming free-of-charge, on DStv Now, without an active subscription. Some 7 live TV channels, as well as dozens of on-demand TV shows, sports, movies etc, are available on the DStv Catchup section of DStv Now.

You can read more about DStv Now here.

Free Channels on Eutelsat 36B

The premise of free channels on “DStv” is that there are other broadcast services sharing the same satellites with DStv. DStv South Africa broadcasts from Intelsat 20 at 68.5°E and DStv Africa makes use of Eutelsat 36B at 36.0°E. There are hundreds of free-to-air channels on both satellites you can watch.

OpenView HD

Restricted to South Africa, OpenView HD offers some 16 TV channels and 11 radio channels, completely free-of-charge. These include:

  • 101 SABC 1
  • 102 SABC 2
  • 103 SABC 3
  • 104 eHD
  • 105 eExtra
  • 106 eMovies
  • 107 eMovies Extra
  • 109 eBella
  • 110 Star Life
  • 115 Kwese Free Sport
  • 116 Trace Sports Stars
  • 121 BBC World News
  • 130 eToonz
  • 134 DBE Mindset
  • 135 DaVinci Learning
  • 140 Glow TV
  • 151 Kruiskyk

OpenView shares the same satellite with DStv South Africa. Thus once the decoder is purchased from any of the OpenView-approved retailers in South Africa, the service needs to be activated via SMS and then connected to the existing satellite dish. The dish does not need to be adjusted. It should work once connected and activated.

Other Satellite Receivers

With explanation earlier, DStv broadcasts with the same satellite with other broadcasters.
Hundreds of free-to-air channels can be accessed once the satellite dish is connected to a compatible receiver.

Dozens of digital satellite receiver brands are out there, capable of MPEG2 / MPEG4 and DVB-S2 would work. Some recent Samsung and LG TV sets have in-built receivers capable of working for this purpose.

For example, an LG Smart TV is capable of automatically scanning all the possible frequencies for existing TV and radio broadcasts. There is no need for manually entering frequencies, vertical or horizontal.

This is how easy it is to Watch DStv Free To Air Channels In Africa [2020 Guide] with the simple steps listed above.

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