By John Ikani
Pay TV company, Multichoice, has announced new rates for its offerings in Nigeria, the firm’s latest price increase that is bound to irk its customers.
The announcement contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 attributed the hike in prices of the packages to the rising costs of inflation and business operations.
Multichoice said its DStv package will now cost – Premium (N21,000), Compact + (N14,250), Compact (N9,000), Confam (N5,300), Yanga (N2,950), Padi (N2,150), Business (N2,669), Xtraview + PVR access fee (N2,900)
The new prices for GOtv package are – Gotv Max for N4,150, GOtv Jolli for N2,800, GOtv Jinja for N1,900, GOtv Lite for N900.
The statement reads in part: “In light of the rising costs of inflation and business operations, we have had to review the price of our packages to keep delighting our customers with great entertainment, anytime and anywhere,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Therefore, from April 1, 2022, a new pricing regime for both our DStv and GOtv packages will be in effect.”
Multichoice said customers who pay on or before their due date (before April 1, 2022) would be eligible to pay the old price.
“Also, customers who pay consistently on time (before their due dates) for a period of 12 months would also be eligible to pay the old price.
“Customers who pay for 10 months upfront on the new price will get the 11th and 12th month free,” the company said.
The company said the price adjustments would enable it to serve customers better.
What you should know
The increase comes days after Nigeria’s consumer protection agency ordered Multichoice to introduce features that allow subscribers to maintain the same subscription fee for at least a year.
Customers should also be allowed the option of suspending their subscription at least four times a year, and Multichoice must also introduce toll-free lines for customers across all networks, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said.
The directives were the latest regulatory efforts by the Nigeria government to rein in the South African company often accused of anti-competitive behaviour and customer exploitation. Multichoice increased prices in 2020 and an attempt to further raise its rates last year stalled.
The FCCPC said it launched an investigation into the firm’s practices in 2020 after a series of complaints of abuse of its dominant position.
