You’ve probably met someone who told you that if you have strong internet, you don’t need DSTV in the current age. All you need is to know the right free sites for streaming football and you’ll be good to go. You’ll comfortably watch Mbappe cut to his left, and then back to his right, before powering a shot past a bemused goalkeeper.
They’ll also tell you how you’ll watch such matches in HD, on whichever channel you desire. TNT Sports? Bein Sports? They’ll all be part of your soccer buffet. All you’ll have to do is munch away with your eyes.
Well, I met such kind of a person too in the form of my friend, Charles. You see, Charles earns around three times more than me, and he claims he can never pay for DSTV. When a person who is earning way more than you appears to be more responsible with money, you’ll immediately start questioning your priorities.
Normally, I pay for the Compact Plus package because of Champions League matches, hence I part with over 6k every month for the service. That’s a lot of money in this economy, so Charles’ words left me reflecting. The more I thought about it, the more I figured there were better things I could do with the 6k.
Imagine if I gave 60 people in my village 100 bob every month. They’ll be praising my name and telling everyone that “huyo kijana wa Etemesi ako na roho mzuri sana.” By 2027, word of my generosity would have spread far and wide, and I’d have gathered enough clout to run for MCA. My new name would be “Kiongos” and if I wanted three wives from the village, I wouldn’t even need to struggle to master pick-up lines. Some of the regular recipients of my money would gladly offer their daughters to me for matrimonial vetting.
It would be awesome, wouldn’t it? After all, we are being advised to go for village women because Nairobi women are too stubborn. It’s a big lie but we’ll get to that another day,
Anyway, I followed Charles’ advice and avoided paying DSTV for the month of April 2024. He recommended some of the free streaming sites that he uses and I went ahead to test them on the Real Madrid Vs Man City first-leg game.
It was a terrible experience. Despite my internet being stronger than the marriages of our grandfathers, the streams kept buffering every few minutes, causing me to miss out on crucial moments.
However, I didn’t give up. I kept experimenting with different sites. Some were slightly better than others, but the improvement wasn’t significant. After facing the same challenges in a few more games, I began wondering whether my decision to save 6k was worth it. I love football, and the fact that I was missing goals and several other key moments while waiting for streams to act right, was bothering me.
The problem with free streaming websites is that there are millions of users trying to watch whenever each match is going on. Because the streams aren’t tailored to single users, they become overwhelmed and start lagging/buffering.
The worst experience came during the Chelsea Vs Everton Premier League game. I had invited a woman to my house to watch with me because she is also a huge football fan. She is a classy lady who enjoys the finer things in life, and I could see she was visibly upset as the streaming challenges kept recurring. She wished she was in her house in Kileleshwa, making good use of the DSTV she normally pays for.
I thought of coming up with excuses. Perhaps I should have told her “Haikuangi hivi. Ni leo tu inasumbua.” But I didn’t. Smart women can read through lies easily.
By the time the game had ended, we had hardly seen any of the six goals. Much of the time had been spent on me trying to refresh the stream or searching for a new one. Disappointed, she ordered a cab and left.
The next day, she posted something interesting on her Whatsapp stories.
“You can tell how serious a man is, by how well he takes care of himself. A serious man will unapologetically invest in the things he loves. He won’t settle for the cheapest options. If a man doesn’t take care of himself, don’t expect him to take care of you.”
It was a brutal punch and there was no doubt it was aimed at me. I felt like Francis Ngannou during his fight with Anthony Joshua. I was hurt. She was clearly stating that I claimed to love football yet I couldn’t spare some money to ensure I had the best viewing experience.
I’ve now learned my lesson. I’ll always pay for DSTV. I’ve suffered enough. Multichoice needs to review some of its prices because they are kinda high, but there is no doubt that DSTV is still the best option for any football lover.
The “DSTV Stream” service also needs to be improved as it’s never really “live.” When you watch the game on DSTV Stream and via decoder at the same time, you’ll notice that the stream is behind by about 30 seconds or a minute. Hopefully, that’s something that will be resolved soon.