Confusion trails MultiChoice’s ‘reversal’ of price hike  

There was confusion yesterday, over claims that pay-TV operator, MultiChoice, has reversed its recent price hike of 25 per cent.
  
News across several online and social media platforms, including X, were flooded with the purported reversal of prices.
  
MultiChoice, owners of DStv and GOtv, had on May 1, 2024, hiked the tariff, making it the second increase within six months.
   
This, of course, never went down well with Nigerians, who called for a boycott of the pay-TV firm over its ‘insensitivity’ to the plight of its customers in the country. The firm had blamed the hike on inflation and other economic challenges in the country.
  
As events unfolded, MultiChoice Nigeria was sued and the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal fined it N150 million for disobeying its orders, which restrained it from increasing its monthly subscription pending the determination of the suit brought before it.
  
The tribunal also ordered the company to provide its Nigerian customers with a one-month free subscription to its DStv and GOtv packages.
  
But yesterday, there were claims that Multichoice had succumbed and readjusted subscription for DStv and GOtv, whereby the DStv Premium package went back to N29,500 from N37,000; Compact+ to N19,800 from N25,000; Compact Bouquet to N12,500 from N15,700). GOtv Super+ returned to N12,500 from N15,700 and GOtv Jinja to N2,700 from N3,300.
  
No official confirmation of this development was available at press time, even as the matter is still in court following an appeal by MultiChoice, but a very close source to MultiChoice told The Guardian, yesterday, that no such reversal was made.
  
“No such reversal o! You can go and subscribe to confirm whether it has changed or not,” the source stated.
  
Indeed, to confirm the development, an attempt was made to renew the subscription to the DStv service, the Premium package showed N37,000 and Compact+ remained at N25,000. It means no price reversal was done.
 
 MultiChoice Group blamed Nigeria’s harsh economic condition as active DStv subscribers in the country declined by 18 per cent.
   
The company stated this in its financial result for the year ended March 31, 2024.

It said the decline in Nigeria affected its overall subscriber database leading to a nine per cent decline for the year.
  
While the total subscription figure for Nigeria is not stated, as it is lumped with other operating units outside South Africa tagged as ‘Rest of Africa’ (RoA), MultiChoice reported that the 18 per cent decline in Nigeria brought the RoA’s total active subscribers down by 13 per cent to 8.1 million from 9.3 million in 2023.  
  
“The group’s nine per cent decline in active subscribers was mainly due to a 13 per cent decline in the RoA business, as mass-market customers in countries like Nigeria had to prioritise necessities over entertainment, while the South African business showed more resilience with a five per cent decline,” the company stated.