By Joke Kujenya
FOLLOWING A court mandate, MultiChoice, the company behind DStv and GOtv, has rolled back its recent subscription price hikes.
This decision comes in the wake of a legal ruling that found the earlier price increases to be unwarranted, which had led to a significant exodus of subscribers, especially in Nigeria.
The company had initially raised prices as a response to economic pressures, including high inflation and the devaluation of the naira.
However, this moves backfired, causing over a million subscribers to cancel their services.
The court’s decision has now forced MultiChoice to revert to its previous pricing structure.
Effective immediately, DStv subscribers will benefit from reduced rates across various packages.
With this decision, the DStv Premium package will only cost N29,500, down from N37,000.
The DStv Compact+ package will be available for N19,800, reduced from N25,000.
Other packages such as DStv Compact Bouquet, DStv Confam, DStv Yanga, and DStv Padi will also see similar reductions.
GOtv customers are also set to see lower prices.
The GOtv Super+package will now be priced at N12,500, a reduction from N15,700.
The GOtv Super package will cost N7,600, down from N9,600, and the GOtv Jinja package will be available for N2,700, reduced from N3,300.
However, despite the rollback, there remains uncertainty about whether MultiChoice will comply with the court’s order to provide a month of free subscription to affected customers.
The company has indicated its intention to challenge this aspect of the ruling, arguing that it could disrupt their business model.
Subscribers were charged the new, higher rates for May 2024, but as of Sunday, June 16, 2024, MultiChoice’s apps reflected the old pricing making the company’s reversal is seen as a move to mitigate the financial strain on customers amid tough economic conditions.
In Nigeria, MultiChoice reported losing over a million subscribers due to the price hikes while the company is yet to officially confirm if it will honour the court’s directive regarding the free month of service.
In a related financial news, MultiChoice disclosed it had an account balance of N31.6 billion with the recently liquidated Heritage Bank.
The company disclosed that it had deposited N33.7 billion with the bank by the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2024.
But this balance was reduced following some remittances before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked Heritage Bank’s license on June 3, 2024, highlighting the ongoing financial and regulatory challenges facing MultiChoice in its largest African market.
