Checking The Excesses Of MultiChoice

MultiChoice, the South African-owned and operated digital satellite television network, indulges in discriminatory practices against its Nigerian viewers who are made to pay higher rates than what other client countries, in particular, South Africa, pay.

The recent hike of 21 per cent on its services available on DStv and GOtv follows a pattern that is irreconcilable given that within the same period the company decided to reduce prices by up to 38 per cent and enhance value for its South African subscribers.

This new tariff which took effect from March 1, 2025, is coming less than a year after the May 2024 price hike in Nigeria. What’s perplexing is that these perfunctory hikes openly defy a directive from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to it to suspend all price adjustments pending the conclusion of ongoing investigations.

Even more troubling, in our opinion, is the company’s simultaneous enhancement of service offerings and reduction of prices for South African customers. In South Africa, MultiChoice has lowered fees on various products, added new channels, and introduced features that improve the user experience, all while acknowledging the financial pressures faced by South African households.

In South Africa, subscribers benefit from reduced pricing, such as the “Add Movies” bolt-on slashed by 38 per cent to R49, alongside additional channels and enhanced streaming features.

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Intriguingly, MultiChoice glosses over the fact that Nigerian consumers are themselves grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis.

This double standard of lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria, amounts to economic discrimination and reinforces long-standing concerns about MultiChoice’s approach toward the Nigerian market that has become glaringly hypocritical and therefore unacceptable.

This newspaper considers this business approach by this South African company not only insensitive and exploitative, but also blatantly discriminatory. To most Nigerian consumers of their services, it reflects MultiChoice’s clear disregard for both Nigerian consumers and regulatory authority, something they dare not contemplate in their home country.

We are compelled to point out that this policy is indefensible as it reflects a disturbing double standard that imposes on Nigerian consumers a tariff borne out of impunity by a near-monopolistic market structure that MultiChoice exploits. It is even more riling for MultiChoice to cite inflation in Nigeria as justification for the hike while offering consumer-friendly pricing in South Africa.

In the meantime, MultiChoice claims the price hike is necessary to deliver “world-class content.” Nigeria’s subscribers still face persistent challenges that remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints. These include repetitive content, frequent service disruptions and poor value for money. Multichoice has obdurately refused to apply the pay–as–you–go policy as obtains in telecommunications, that will save the consumer the agony of paying for viewership even when the channel is not on.

Rather than resolving these issues, MultiChoice has chosen to penalise its loyal Nigerian customers with higher prices, emphasising profit, not service or fairness.

Elsewhere, MultiChoice’s dominance of the pay-TV sector, enabled by a lack of effective competition, would have been checked through anti-trust litigations and other civil penalties. The ease with which it increases prices without fear of losing market share highlights the weakness of regulatory intervention perceptibly influenced by corruption. In the prevailing circumstance, Nigerian consumers are effectively held captive in a market where choice is limited and abuse is rampant.

This company, by its monopolistic and bare-faced anti-Nigeria business practices, pretends as if the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the main regulatory platform, either does not exist or may have been compromised.

Regardless, we are persuaded by the pain Nigerian consumers are going through to aver that the time is now for the NBC to rise from its self-imposed slumber and take decisive steps to foster genuine competition in the pay-TV sector and dismantle MultiChoice’s stranglehold on the market.

The first place to start is the immediate reversal of the March 2025 price hike, compensation for subscribers affected by repeated, unjustified price increases and service deficiencies, as well as full compliance with the FCCPC’s directive.

We urge the FCCPC to initiate legal proceedings against MultiChoice for its defiance of regulatory orders and its disregard for consumer welfare. A transparent investigation into its pricing model, service quality, and compliance with Nigerian competition and consumer protection laws is essential.

It is pertinent at this time for Nigerian consumers to explore alternative platforms and consider boycotting DStv and GOtv until MultiChoice demonstrates genuine respect for their rights.

We recall that there was a time the National Assembly made an attempt, which turned whimsical, to curb the excesses of MultiChoice. That nothing came out of it is proof that the company may have understudied the Nigerian system and is taking full advantage of its complexities.

Still, the discriminatory pricing that rewards South African subscribers with lower costs and better services while exploiting Nigerians is a glaring example of unchecked corporate greed operating hand in glove with incompetent and inefficient regulatory oversight. That must not be allowed to continue.

Nigerian subscribers audaciously reject this injustice and call on all stakeholders to hold MultiChoice accountable, for the inexorable reason that the Nigerian market deserves dignity, not exploitation.