MultiChoice – South African trademarks
Updated 8 November 2026
MultiChoice is Africa's largest pay-television company. It runs DStv and GOtv satellite and terrestrial television and the Showmax streaming service.
How MultiChoice has built and protected its brands in South Africa – its trademark portfolio, where it expanded, how quickly its marks are registered, and who it competes with.
Download report (PDF)MultiChoice trademarks in 45 seconds
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/multichoice-south-african-trademarks/overview-video.html
A portfolio built over time
MultiChoice filed its first South African trademark in 1985 and has filed 1,037 since; its busiest year was 1997, with 179 new filings. The chart shows its filings per year from 1970.
Trademarks by filing year, up to 2024; applications still pending are not included.
The names behind the portfolio
Over the years the group has filed under several names – earlier company names, holding companies and subsidiaries. We count them together.
| Name | Marks | Filing years |
|---|---|---|
| Mih | 659 | 1985–2019 |
| Supersport International | 318 | 1987–2023 |
| MultiChoice | 196 | 1993–2024 |
| Multichoice Africa | 5 | 1999–2011 |
Where MultiChoice expanded its business
Trademark classes show what a business sells. MultiChoice's portfolio is concentrated in education & entertainment (class 41), telecoms (class 38), electronics & software (class 9). Its most recent moves were into legal & security (2016), restaurants & hotels (2015), yarns (1998).
MultiChoice trademarks: expansion into trademark classes, 1970–2024
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/multichoice-south-african-trademarks/class-expansion-video.html
Each tile is a class; it lights up when the group first files in it and darkens with more filings; the dots show how many of its closest rivals also file in that class. The chart compares the number of classes used with its rivals. The video runs from 1970; classes entered earlier are lit from the start.
| Class | Marks | Share | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 Education & entertainment | 205 | 19.8% | 1985 |
| 38 Telecoms | 165 | 15.9% | 1985 |
| 9 Electronics & software | 158 | 15.2% | 1986 |
| 16 Paper & print | 125 | 12.1% | 1991 |
| 35 Advertising & retail | 117 | 11.3% | 1990 |
| 42 Tech & IT services | 63 | 6.1% | 1995 |
| 25 Clothing | 35 | 3.4% | 1991 |
| 28 Toys & sports goods | 31 | 3.0% | 1987 |
The brands MultiChoice protects most
The word marks and logo names MultiChoice has filed most often – the same brand filed in more classes, in more versions or again over the years.
| # | Brand | Trademarks | Classes | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DSTV | 59 | 42 | 1995–2014 |
| 2 | SUPER SPORT CHANNEL OF CHAMPIONS | 37 | 22 | 1997–1998 |
| 3 | SUPERSPORT | 24 | 22 | 1987–1997 |
| 4 | BOOTS & ALL | 24 | 12 | 1997–2001 |
| 5 | NOVA | 24 | 7 | 1998–2001 |
| 6 | SUPERSPORT ACTION CAFE | 21 | 7 | 1997–1997 |
| 7 | EXTRA COVER | 18 | 10 | 1997–2001 |
| 8 | SUPER SPORT | 17 | 12 | 1991–1998 |
| 9 | MULTICHOICE | 15 | 9 | 1993–2017 |
| 10 | NOVASCOPE | 15 | 5 | 1998–1998 |
| 11 | MIH | 13 | 5 | 1996–2011 |
| 12 | SHOWMAX | 9 | 3 | 2015–2016 |
| 13 | CHANNEL O | 8 | 4 | 1997–1997 |
| 14 | EXPAND YOUR VIEW | 7 | 7 | 1998–1998 |
| 15 | MAXIMO S CANAL DOS CAMPEOES | 7 | 7 | 2006–2006 |
Logos filed most often (since 2020)
MultiChoice's logos
The 10 different logos MultiChoice has had published since 2020 – each logo shown once, however many classes or versions it was filed in. Logos protected in more classes come first.
How quickly its trademarks are registered
Over the last five years, MultiChoice's marks took a median of 4.4 years from filing to registration, slower than the market's 2.7 years. Most of that time is examination: 3.7 years from filing to acceptance (market: 1.9). Registration itself follows about half a year after acceptance.
Median years from filing to registration per registration year, split into examination (filing → acceptance) and acceptance → registration; the dashed line is the market median. A high recent value means older applications came through that year.
Who files the most in MultiChoice's classes
Ranked by number of trademarks filed in MultiChoice's main classes – any company that files there, whatever else it does (including retailers' own brands). This shows MultiChoice's market position, not who is most like it.
In the last five years, MultiChoice was #191 of 3,121 filers in class 41 (education & entertainment), with 5 of 6,243 trademarks; #107 of 893 filers in class 38 (telecoms), with 3 of 1,971 trademarks; #209 of 4,926 filers in class 9 (electronics & software), with 6 of 10,252 trademarks.
MultiChoice's share of all trademarks filed in each of its main classes, per filing year.
Top trademark filers in class 41 (education & entertainment), South Africa 1975–2024: MultiChoice
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/multichoice-south-african-trademarks/class-41-race-video.html
Main competitors – the companies most like MultiChoice
Ranked by how similar their whole trademark portfolio is to MultiChoice's – the same mix of classes and the same words in their marks – not by size. Large filers in its classes that do something different rank lower here.
MultiChoice's closest competitors in South Africa are SABC and Sagarmatha Technologies.
MultiChoice trademarks vs competitors: filings per year, 2010–2024
Watch the video on its own page, with transcript – https://snz.co.za/trademark-country-selection-direct/multichoice-south-african-trademarks/competitors-video.html
Trademark filings per year: MultiChoice (orange) and its five closest competitors.
| # | Company | Relationship | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SABC | Direct competitor | 75% |
| 2 | Sagarmatha Technologies | Direct competitor | 69% |
| 3 | Telkom | 88% | |
| 4 | Cell C | 76% | |
| 5 | MTN | 75% | |
| 6 | Universal City Studios | 71% | |
| 7 | Vodacom | 70% | |
| 8 | Vodafone | 70% | |
| 9 | 1life Insurance | Other field | 73% |
| 10 | European Professional Club Rugby | Other field | 73% |
Similarity of trademark activity since 2015 (classes and words used in marks). Retailers appear where their own brands compete on the shelf.
MultiChoice – relevant export countries
Adjust the weightings
These weightings decide how the countries below are ranked. Change any value and the others adjust to keep the total at 100%.
Worldwide
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 4 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | European Union | 72 | US$37 m | -1% | National | US$2,123 |
| 2 | United States of America | 70 | US$25 m | -4% | National | US$2,750 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 67 | US$16 m | -7% | National | US$1,192 |
| 4 | Namibia | 63 | US$208 m | +4% | ARIPO | US$397 |
| 5 | Japan | 60 | US$140 k | -2% | National | US$1,481 |
| 6 | Hong Kong SAR | 60 | US$2.9 m | +11% | National | US$1,412 |
| 7 | Canada | 59 | US$1.2 m | -7% | National | US$1,907 |
| 8 | Singapore | 59 | US$1.3 m | +26% | National | US$1,725 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 59 | US$1.4 m | -2% | National | US$1,390 |
| 10 | Botswana | 59 | US$189 m | -7% | ARIPO | US$397 |
Africa
| # | Market | Score | SA exports | Import growth / yr | Route | Cost, 4 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namibia | 63 | US$208 m | +4% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 2 | Botswana | 59 | US$189 m | -7% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 3 | Malawi | 53 | US$13 m | +35% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 4 | Nigeria | 52 | US$2.7 m | -17% | National | US$812 S&Z |
| 5 | Zimbabwe | 52 | US$38 m | -2% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 6 | Tanzania | 51 | US$7.5 m | -5% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 7 | OAPI (17 states) | 51 | US$7.5 m | +4% | National | US$1,378 S&Z |
| 8 | Mozambique | 50 | US$55 m | -22% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 9 | Uganda | 49 | US$4.1 m | +12% | ARIPO | US$397 S&Z |
| 10 | Lesotho | 45 | US$73 m | -1% | National | US$320 |
SA exports = South Africa's exports of these goods to the market in the last year. Ranked with the default weightings. Score 0–100 from South Africa's exports of the goods to the market, net imports, import growth, foreign trademark filings, where the goods are made, market size and the cost of protection. Costs are total fees (official and professional) to file in 4 classes; ARIPO costs are per country, plus US$290 once per ARIPO application; S&Z = S&Z's own all-in price. Goods are taken from the classes and specifications, so the ranking is indicative.
Trade data: CEPII BACI (version 202601, trade flows 2022–2024), Licence Etalab 2.0; aggregated and combined with other data by S&Z.
Protecting its top brands in Nigeria and OAPI with S&Z
| Brand | Classes | Nigeria | OAPI (17 states) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSTV | 42 | US$8,526 | US$8,396 |
| SUPER SPORT CHANNEL OF CHAMPIONS | 22 | US$4,466 | US$4,703 |
| SUPERSPORT | 22 | US$4,466 | US$4,703 |
| BOOTS & ALL | 12 | US$2,436 | US$2,856 |
| NOVA | 7 | US$1,421 | US$1,932 |
S&Z all-in prices per brand in its number of classes, filing to registration.
TM Country Selection Rank the countries for your own goods and get the quotes.
Word marks you may have considered opposing
For MultiChoice's five most-filed brands: word marks of other companies (not MultiChoice's own group) that our similar word mark search, SimTM, found in the brand's own classes, and that we consider confusingly similar – from the earliest match found to today.
Similar to DSTV (classes 9, 16, 35, 38, 41; no close matches in the search)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found.
Similar to NOVA (classes 9, 16, 35, 38, 39, 41, 42; searched 2019-02-27 to 2026-11-07)
| Mark | Published | Class | Applicant |
|---|---|---|---|
| STARTIMES NOVA | 2019-07-31 | 41 | STARTIMES COMMUNICATION NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD |
| STARTIMES NOVA | 2019-07-31 | 9 | STARTIMES COMMUNICATION NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD |
| STARTIMES NOVA | 2019-07-31 | 38 | STARTIMES COMMUNICATION NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD |
Similar to SUPER SPORT CHANNEL OF CHAMPIONS (classes 9, 16, 35, 38, 41; searched 2018-01-31 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to SUPERSPORT (classes 9, 16, 35, 38, 41; searched 2018-01-31 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similar to BOOTS & ALL (classes 9, 16, 38, 41; searched 2018-01-31 to 2026-11-08)
No confusingly similar marks of other companies found in this period.
Similarity of the words only. Whether a mark could have been opposed depends on the goods and services, the reputation of the brand and the facts – S&Z can advise. New marks like these are what SimTM watch reports as they are published.
How S&Z can help you
S&Z does not just file trademarks. We are a technology-first firm that manages trademarks – analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected.
We manage your trademarks – not just file them
Analysing your data, monitoring competitors and making sure your trademark assets remain protected:
Filing and renewal at fixed, all-inclusive prices
S&Z prices – South African trademarks
| Filing, first class – incl. official fee, examination report, routine office action, acceptance, publication, registration and e-certificate | US$240 |
| Each additional class of the same mark, filed at the same time | US$225 |
| Renewal online, per class (every 10 years from filing) | R1,027 ≈ US$62.29 |
Renewal in rand; US$ at R16.49 per US$.
MultiChoice's next five years of renewals
200 of MultiChoice's registered marks reach their ten-year renewal date in 2027–2031. Renewed online with S&Z, that costs about US$12,458 over the five years.
MultiChoice: frequently asked questions
What should MultiChoice consider for its trademarks?
- Similar marks: we found 3 word marks of other companies that we consider confusingly similar to its top brands (see “Word marks you may have considered opposing”) – a watch service flags new ones while they can still be opposed.
- Fewer new brands: new brand names fell from 5.4 to 1.2 a year – worth reviewing whether planned launches are being protected early enough.
- Renewals and use: keep track of the ten-year renewal dates and of marks that are no longer used – unused marks can be challenged after five years, and some may no longer be worth renewing.