Save the Consumers, a Nigeria-based Non-Governmental Organisation, has condemned the recent 21 per cent price increase imposed by MultiChoice Nigeria on its DStv and GOtv services, effective March 1, 2025.
The group alleged that, contrary to Nigeria’s experience, the company reduced its charges in South Africa by about 38 per cent within the same period.
A statement signed by the Executive Director of the group, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, issued in Abuja yesterday, described the increment as insensitive, exploitative, and discriminatory.
“Coming less than a year after the May 2024 price hike in Nigeria, the new increase openly defies a directive from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to suspend all price adjustments pending the conclusion of ongoing investigations. It reflects MultiChoice’s clear disregard for both Nigerian consumers and regulatory authority,” it said.
Save the Consumers noted that the rise in subscriptions was accompanied by the company’s simultaneous enhancement of service offerings and reduction of prices for South African customers.
It added: “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. This double standard, lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria, amounts to economic discrimination and reinforces long-standing concerns about MultiChoice’s exploitative approach toward the Nigerian market.”
It declared that it is indefensible for MultiChoice to cite inflation in Nigeria as justification for the hike while offering consumer-friendly pricing in South Africa.
It insisted that the company’s action reflects a disturbing double standard, with Nigerian consumers continuing to suffer under a near-monopolistic market structure that MultiChoice exploits with impunity.
“While MultiChoice claims the price hike is necessary to deliver ‘world-class content,’ Nigerian subscribers still face persistent challenges that remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints. These include repetitive content, frequent service disruptions, and poor value for money. Rather than resolving these issues, MultiChoice has chosen to penalise its loyal Nigerian customers with higher prices, once again proving that profit, not service or fairness, is its primary motivation,” it stated.
It disclosed that South African 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.
The group said MultiChoice CEO Byron Du Plessis’s justification that these changes are due to ‘financial pressures faced by households’ further demonstrates the company’s hypocritical and disingenuous treatment of Nigerian consumers, who are themselves grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis.
The group observed that MultiChoice’s dominance in Nigeria’s pay-TV sector, enabled by a lack of effective competition, has emboldened its monopolistic practices.(Guardian)
