Monday, 30 June 2025

Advanced Television: MultiChoice Nigeria slashes fees

Story from Advanced Television:

MultiChoice Nigeria has cut the price of its DStv HD decoder by 50 per cent, dropping it from ₦20,000 (€11.05) to ₦10,000. The campaign, dubbed ‘We’ve Got You’, is running to July 31st. It also offers a free one-month subscription to the Compact package.

The move is seen as a response to declining subscriptions and the need to make DStv more affordable amid Nigeria’s economic difficulties. It is a clear signal that MultiChoice is urgently trying to lure back price-sensitive customers.

Between March 2023 and March 2025, Nigeria accounted for the loss of 1.4 million MultiChoice subscribers, which represents over 77 percent of the total customer drop across MultiChoice’s ‘Rest of Africa; market.

While DStv and GOtv are under pressure in Nigeria, the company’s Showmax streaming service is performing well. Showmax saw a 44 per cent rise in paying subscribers over the past year. However, the platform is not yet profitable.

Additionally, the business is under extreme pressure in Nigeria from the nation’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) which is set to arraign MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, along with its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe, and other company executives, for obstructing its investigation and failing to adhere to lawful summons. But the FCCPC has dismissed a Class Action lawsuit from almost 1,000 DStv and GOtv subscribers arguing that MultiChoice’s price increases in November 2023 and May 2024 were arbitrary, exploitative, and unfair. The FCCPC ruled the action out of court over lack of jurisdiction.

“The issue of price regulation is a matter that falls within the exclusive purview of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” said the FCCPC.

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