Who's explaining this: Vivimate, a general IPTV subscription for the US and Canada that doesn't carry DStv. We don't have a DStv account and this page reports no use of our own. Every Catch Up rule below is DStv's, taken from its South African help pages and news, read on November 10, 2026 and linked. Where two DStv pages disagree, we show both.
What Catch Up is
DStv's FAQ "What is Catch Up?" describes an on-demand library built from the channels in your package: recent episodes, box sets, films, sport highlights and children's shows, usually added after they air. You watch it on selected PVR decoders or online through the DStv website and app. DStv says it's available to all active subscribers and that it doesn't cost extra; on a PVR, the Access Fee for hard-drive features applies. Because the library follows your package, a bigger package means more Catch Up. Our DStv channels list shows which channels each package carries.
How soon shows arrive, and how long they stay
DStv aims to add shows within a few hours of broadcast. Live or near-live programmes, its examples being Idols, sport and Carte Blanche, can take 12 to 24 hours. On the way out, DStv's availability FAQ gives a range rather than a rule: a few days to a few months after first broadcast, set by its agreements with each content provider. So a show you meant to watch "this weekend" may already be gone by then.
You can't pick which shows go onto Catch Up, either. DStv's FAQ on choosing shows says it doesn't have the rights to include all content, and suggests recording a missing show on a PVR so it sits in your Playlist instead.
App or decoder: where the full library is
This is the part that confuses most households. DStv's FAQ on Catch Up in the app versus on PVRs says the app carries "the complete set of Catch Up content for your package", while a decoder holds only what fits on its hard drive. DStv's decoder FAQ adds that only PVRs have Catch Up at all, because only they have a hard drive.
The two DStv pages give slightly different Explora figures, "over 170 hours" in one and more than 175 in the other, so we use the lower. Older PVRs hold about 20 hours, for DStv Premium customers only. To reach the rest, DStv says you connect the Explora to the internet, because its drive can't store everything; a connected Explora can then download up to 25 shows at a time. Timing differs too: decoders get Catch Up by satellite and the app gets it online, so DStv says a title may not appear in both at the same moment. Our Explora Ultra guide covers the newest recording decoder.
What you can do in the app
DStv's "What is the DStv Stream App?" FAQ describes an app for live TV and Catch Up from your package, on phones, tablets, smart TVs, consoles, media players and laptops, with internet access and data required. Within it, the controls differ by what you're watching:
- Pause, rewind, fast-forward: DStv's FAQ says these work only on Catch Up, not on live channels.
- Watch from Start: DStv's article dated November 11, 2024 announced going back up to 24 hours on select live channels, among them SuperSport channels, M-Net, Mzansi Magic and kykNET, starting on the web on November 12, 2024, with other platforms following gradually.
- Recording: the same 2024 article announced Cloud PVR, keeping saved live shows for 30 days in a My Stuff section. DStv's undated recording FAQ still says recording is only on PVRs, so check what your app shows.
Downloads: the 25-title cap
The app can save Catch Up for offline viewing, within limits DStv sets out in three FAQs. Its download FAQ allows up to 25 titles at any one time on selected devices. A follow-up FAQ confirms the 25 is per subscription, shared across every device and profile, not 25 each. Which devices can download, and which titles are stream-only, is regulated by DStv's rights agreements with content suppliers; a Catch Up FAQ gives the same reason for titles you can stream but not download. In a family that shares one subscription, it pays to delete watched downloads so the cap doesn't block someone else.
Catch Up, recording or a download: which to use
The three overlap, and each has a catch. Put together from DStv's FAQs above, this is how they divide the work:
- Catch Up suits a show you missed this week, as long as it's in your package and DStv has the rights; it may leave within days.
- A PVR recording suits a show that isn't on Catch Up or that you want to keep longer, since it stays on the decoder's drive; DStv points to recording as the answer when a show isn't included.
- A download in the app suits a flight or a weak signal, on a device DStv allows, and counts towards the shared 25.
- Cloud PVR, where your app has it, keeps a saved live show for 30 days, per DStv's 2024 announcement.
Screens and sign-in
The app FAQ says each subscription streams on one device at a time, while DStv's other pages give higher counts with mobile streams added. Rather than repeat a figure DStv itself doesn't settle, we keep the comparison on our DStv Stream page. Signing in, resetting a password and removing a linked device are covered in our DStv self service guide.
Catch Up outside South Africa
DStv's country FAQ puts the app in all African countries that offer DStv by satellite, with what you can watch depending on your package and the country where the subscription is held. Its app FAQ adds that a subscriber traveling in another of those countries gets their home live channels and Catch Up, not the local ones, and that anywhere else there will be no content available, because its content rights don't allow it.
For readers in the US and Canada, that settles it: DStv Catch Up doesn't play here, and we don't suggest any way around DStv's territory rules. Our DStv overview has the packages and where each plays.
Where Vivimate fits
Vivimate isn't the DStv app, has no DStv Catch Up and doesn't carry DStv or SuperSport. It's a separate IPTV subscription billed in US dollars, and we don't promise any channel, league or show; the 24-hour free trial needs no card and lets you search the guide yourself before paying. Plans are prepaid with no auto-renewal: 1 month at $19.99 ($31.98 for two devices), 3 months at $29.99 ($47.98 for two devices), 6 months at $39.99 ($63.98 for two devices), or 12 months plus 2 free at $69.99 ($111.98 for two devices). A first purchase has a 7-day refund window when a service problem you report can't be fixed, under our refund policy. IPTV is a legal technology, and what counts is the seller's rights, as our page on whether IPTV is legal explains. We don't publish the rights agreements behind our channels.
Frequently asked questions
How long do shows stay on DStv Catch Up?
DStv doesn't give one figure. Its FAQ says programmes are available anywhere from a few days to a few months after first broadcast, depending on the agreements with each content provider, so watch soon after a show airs.
Does DStv Catch Up cost extra?
No. DStv says Catch Up is available to all its active subscribers, streamed through the website or the DStv Stream app. Using it on a PVR decoder involves the Access Fee that applies to features using the hard drive.
How many shows can I download from the DStv app?
Up to 25 titles at any one time. DStv says the limit is per subscription, across all devices and profiles combined, and downloads work only on selected devices. Some titles are stream-only because of DStv's agreements with content suppliers.
Why is a show on the DStv app but not on my decoder?
The app has the complete Catch Up set for your package, while a decoder stores only what fits on its hard drive: about 20 hours on older PVRs and more than 170 hours on an Explora, per DStv. Delivery also differs: satellite to the decoder, online to the app.
Can I watch DStv Catch Up in the USA or Canada?
No, by DStv's own account. Its app FAQ says that outside African countries with DStv there is no content available, because its content rights don't allow it. We don't suggest any way around that, and Vivimate doesn't carry DStv.
Sources
All read November 10, 2026.
- DStv help, Catch Up: what it is, who can use it, cost, how long shows take and how long they stay
- DStv help, Catch Up and decoders: decoders with Catch Up, choosing shows, connecting an Explora, Explora downloads and download or stream only
- DStv help, DStv Stream app: what it is, Catch Up in the app versus PVRs, timing, pause and rewind and recording
- DStv help, downloads and countries: downloading, the limit and profiles, devices and countries
- DStv news: DStv Stream new features, dated November 11, 2024
Couldn't read: a dated DStv page confirming whether Cloud PVR and Watch from Start have reached every app platform, a list of the devices that allow downloads, and how long any single title stays on Catch Up.
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