DStv Channel List 2026 — Every Channel by Package & Number

Few things are more confusing about DStv than its channel list. You see a channel number mentioned online, punch it into your remote, and get a "not part of your package" message instead of a picture. The numbers are not random — DStv organises its hundreds of channels into neat genre blocks — but which ones light up depends entirely on the bouquet you pay for. This guide explains how DStv groups its channels, walks through the key numbers by genre, and clears up exactly why the same channel can be live in one home and dark in another.

If you want the wider picture first — packages, decoders, streaming and how all of it fits together — start with our complete DStv guide. This page zooms in on one thing: the channels.

How DStv groups its channels

DStv arranges channels into genre bands, and the channel number tells you which band a channel belongs to. Once you learn the blocks, navigating the EPG becomes much faster:

• 100s — general entertainment and movies (M-Net, M-Net Movies, 1Magic, Mzansi Magic, kykNET).
• 120s–180s — lifestyle, factual and documentary (Discovery, National Geographic, Food Network).
• 200s — sport, dominated by SuperSport.
• 300s — kids' channels and music (Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Channel O, MTV).
• 400s — news (CNN, BBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, eNCA).
• Higher bands — religion, audio/radio, special-interest and regional channels.

The headline brands you will recognise are SuperSport (the sport engine), M-Net and the M-Net Movies family, 1Magic and Mzansi Magic for series, kykNET for Afrikaans content, CNN and the BBC for news, and National Geographic and Discovery for documentaries.

Why the same channel number differs by bouquet

Here is the part that trips everyone up. A DStv channel number is fixed — Cartoon Network is on 301 whether you are on EasyView or Premium. What changes is whether your bouquet unscrambles it. Your subscription is essentially a list of which channels your decoder is authorised to decode; everything outside that list stays dark, even though the number still exists.

That is exactly why you see "this channel is not part of your package" (often accompanied by error E16). It is not a fault — it is the channel sitting in a higher tier than the one you pay for. Upgrading the bouquet, not resetting the decoder, is the fix. The full tier-by-tier breakdown of which channels each package carries lives in our guide to DStv packages and prices.

SuperSport channel numbers (the 200s)

For most subscribers, sport is DStv — and it all lives in the 200s on SuperSport. SuperSport carries the DStv Premiership(South Africa's top-flight football), the Premier League, LaLiga, UEFA competitions, rugby, cricket and motorsport. The full SuperSport block is only available on Compact Plus and Premium, which is the single biggest reason sport-focused households end up on the pricier tiers.

If you only follow the local league, our guide to DStv Premiership fixtures and how to watch covers the schedule, the log and which SuperSport channel shows each match.

Movie channels — the M-Net family (100s)

DStv's movie offering is built around M-Net on channel 101 and the dedicated M-Net Movies channels in the low 100s. These are premium channels concentrated in the upper bouquets — premieres and recent blockbusters sit on M-Net Movies 1, with themed channels handling action, classics and family films.

Series & local-language channels

DStv's drama and series line-up is where its local strength shows. 1Magic carries premium local and international series; Mzansi Magic is the home of South African telenovelas, reality and drama; and kykNET anchors Afrikaans programming. Local-language channels — including indigenous-language entertainment on Mzansi Wethu — are a major reason DStv remains dominant in the South African market.

News & documentary channels (400s & 100s)

The 400s are DStv's news band — CNN International, BBC News, Sky News, Al Jazeera and local outlets such as eNCA and Newzroom Afrika. Documentary and factual channels — National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild and Discovery — sit in the lifestyle bands of the 100s. News channels appear on most bouquets, which makes them some of the few channels a budget subscriber reliably keeps.

Kids & music channels (300s)

The 300s cover children's programming and music. Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel handle kids, while Channel O, MTV Base and Tracedeliver African and international music. Most kids' channels are available from the mid-tier bouquets upward.

What channels are on DStv Compact?

DStv Compactis the popular middle tier — roughly 140+ channels. It carries strong family entertainment (1Magic, Mzansi Magic, kykNET), the full news band (CNN, BBC, Sky News), kids' channels, and selected live sport. The crucial caveat for sport fans: Compact does not include the complete SuperSport line-up — the premium football and the full set of SuperSport channels start at Compact Plus. If a SuperSport channel reads "not part of your package" on Compact, that is why. For the exact channel count and what each step up adds, see our DStv packages and prices comparison.

Want every channel, on every tier?

The whole reason DStv channel numbers are confusing is that the service is tiered — the channel exists, but your bouquet decides whether you can watch it. An internet-based IPTV service flips that model. Tivimate streams 50,000+ live channels — sport, movies, series, kids and international content — regardless of tier, straight over your broadband to a Firestick, smart TV or phone. No dish, no decoder, no "not part of your package" message, and no upgrading just to unlock the channels you actually want.

It is not a like-for-like swap — DStv's SuperSport rights are genuinely hard to replace channel-for-channel, and if your broadband is weak, satellite is still more reliable. But for households tired of paying a Premium bill to reach a handful of channels, it is a serious alternative. You can read how the channel models compare in our complete DStv guide, which covers packages, decoders and streaming end to end.

Frequently asked questions