Reps Ask Multichoice To Reverse Subscription Hike

The House of Representatives has called on Multichoice to suspend its proposed increase in subscription prices in the country, pending exhaustive investigations.

The House mandated its committee on commerce to investigate Multichoice’s arbitrary increase in subscription prices to ensure the implementation of cost-effective policies in the pay-TV sector for consumers in Nigeria and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.

These followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, which was moved by the member representing the Oredo federal constituency of Edo state, Hon. Esosa Lyawe, at the plenary on Tuesday.

Moving the motion, we noted that Multichoice, the owner of Pay TV options DStv and GOtv, recently announced an increase in the prices of all its packages in Nigeria. They cited prevalent economic factors leading to increased operational costs as their reason for the proposed increase.

The lawmaker also noted that the 20%-25% hike in subscription prices would be the second time in less than a year, as the last hike was in May 2024.

He expressed concern that; “the increase in May 2024 sparked a public outrage, and many Nigerians who were already dealing with rising living costs were forced to ditch their decoders even as they lamented the lack of competition in the pay-TV sector.

“Due to the dominant position of Multichoice in pay-TV, price increases always have a widespread impact and put consumers under undue pressure.

“The recent announcement of a hike in subscription prices has triggered widespread criticism from subscribers. Many have taken to social media to express their frustration over frequent price hikes without a corresponding improvement in service quality and the government’s aloof stance.