By Joke Kujenya
AMID WIDESPREAD speculation, MultiChoice has clarified recent misinformation regarding its subscription pricing in Nigeria.
Contrary to circulating reports suggesting a rollback to previous subscription rates due to a court order, MultiChoice affirms that subscription fees remain unchanged. Instead, the company has reduced the prices of its decoders to attract more subscribers.
According to the parent company of DStv and GOtv the price reduction strategy for each of the two decoders aims to broaden access to their services, rather than reverting to outdated subscription models.
This clarification comes after MultiChoice faced a notable decrease in subscribers, losing approximately 1.2 million customers, which industry analysts attribute to the increased subscription rates introduced in May.
In response to market dynamics and inflation, MultiChoice reportedly announced new subscription prices for its DStv packages in May 2024.
The revised pricing structure was widely reported to feature as follows:
- Premium package now costs N37,000 per month, up from N29,500.
- Compact+ bouquet has risen to N25,000 from N19,800,
- Compact package increased to N15,700 from N12,500.
- Confam package now stands at N9,300, compared to the previous N7,400.
- Subscribers to the Yanga bouquet will pay N5,100 monthly, an increase from N4,200, and the,
- Padi package now costs N3,600, up from N2,950.
- Just as the HDPVR Access subscription has also seen a rise to N5,000 from N4,000.
The company notes that for GOtv users, the,
- Supa Plus package now costs N15,700, up from N12,500, while the
- Supa bouquet is priced at N9,600, an increase from N7,600.
The GOtv Max subscription has been adjusted to N7,200 from N5,700, and the Jolli package is now N4,850, up from N3,950.
Customers on the Jinja package will pay N3,300 monthly instead of N2,700, and the Smallie package is now priced at N1,575, up from N1,300.
Following these price adjustments, a Nigerian court mandated MultiChoice to revert to its old subscription prices, imposed a N150 million fine, and ordered a one-month free subscription for its Nigerian customers.
But despite this ruling, MultiChoice announced its intention to appeal, asserting that the price hikes reflect current market conditions and are necessary to maintain service quality and sustainability while also insisting that its stance mirrors a commitment to balancing market realities with customer retention, as it navigates the challenges of a fluctuating subscriber base and economic pressures.
