BY RITA OYIBOKA
Television has long been a cornerstone of entertainment worldwide, and Nigeria is no exception. Come every evening, families gather in living rooms across the nation, glued to the TV whether it’s the excitement of football, the latest news, or a Nollywood classic.
However, a seismic shift has just rocked the Nigerian entertainment landscape. In a revelation that appear rather stunning and apparently making waves, MultiChoice, the powerhouse behind DStv and GOtv, has reported a staggering loss of 243,000 subscribers in just six months.
MultiChoice has confirmed that Nigeria and Zambia contributed the largest portions to their recent subscriber losses, part of a 566,000 subscribers decline across Africa from April to September 2024.
In these months, this once-dominant force in pay-tv saw its subscriber base plummet, as Nigerians grappled with the heavy toll of inflation, fuel price hikes, and the ever-constant collapse of the national power grid.
“These are our most challenging conditions in nearly four decades,” stated Calvo Mawela, CEO of MultiChoice, pointing to the need for drastic adjustments to sustain operations.
While MultiChoice points the finger squarely at the soaring cost of living as the culprit, others are left wondering: is it really about the tightening purse strings, or has the relentless subscription surge left viewers questioning whether TV is still worth the cost of admission?
Is MultiChoice Really Blameless?
In April, broadcasting giant MultiChoice raised its subscription prices in Nigeria, marking the second increase in just four months. The adjustments span across all DStv and GOtv packages, with new prices taking effect on May 1, 2024.
Under the latest revision, the DStv Premium package jumped from N29,500 to a hefty N37,000. DStv Compact+ stood at N25,000, up from N19,800, and the Compact package rose from N12,500 to N15,700. The Comfam package climbed from N7,400 to N9,300, Yanga moved up from N4,200 to N5,100, and Padi increased from N2,950 to N3,600. Additionally, HDPVR, Access Fees, and XtraView packages each saw a bump from N4,000 to N5,000.
Over on the GOtv side, the Supa+ package was bumped to N15,700, up from N12,500, with Supa going from N7,600 to N9,600 and Max from N5,700 to N7,200. The Jolli package rose from N3,950 to N4,850, Jinja from N2,700 to N3,300, and Smallie from N1,300 to N1,575.
The price increase followed a December 2023 hike, introduced shortly after revealing a $72 million loss in its third-quarter financial report.
Attempting to win back subscribers, the company adjusted its rates in June 2024, trimming down costs on several packages. While DStv Premium dropped back to N29, 500 and Compact+ to N19, 800, many Nigerians still found these adjustments hard to stomach, leaving MultiChoice’s struggle to balance profits with customer retention very much in the spotlight.
And let’s not forget GOtv. The Super+ package saw a decrease from N15,700 to N12,500, but with the soaring cost of essentials, even that modest reduction is proving to be a tough pill to swallow.
With families now faced with a stark choice—pay for TV or cover the ever-rising cost of basic needs—many are left wondering if MultiChoice is truly listening to the masses or if it’s merely padding its coffers while the rest of the country struggles to afford necessities.
Subscribers Feel the Pinch
When MultiChoice raised prices on its DStv and GOtv packages on May 1 after a tribunal had ruled against the price hike just days earlier, many subscribers expressed frustration, feeling that they were being priced out of entertainment. While MultiChoice insists that it is reacting to inflationary pressures, many customers are unconvinced.
A former subscriber to the pay tv, Romanus Amakor, shared his sentiments, “I have not subscribed my decoder for over four months now. How can I pay so much for a DStv subscription, and still pay N100, 000 per month just to enjoy a little bit of it? N100, 000 worth of fuel only gives you less than 130 liters. How much is the average salary? Did we come to this world just to watch DStv ? ”
This is a sentiment shared by millions of Nigerians who rely on generators to power their homes due to the unstable grid.
“It’s not just inflation,” said Mr. John Chijioke, a long-time GOtv user. “They’ve been increasing prices every year without offering any new value. How about introducing a pay-as-you-go system, like they have in other countries? Why do we have to pay for a whole month when we only watch a few days?” His sentiments reflect a growing discontent among Nigerian subscribers who feel MultiChoice is out of touch with the realities on the ground.
Yet there is the question of service. While MultiChoice has rolled out “adjustments” to its packages, subscribers are left wondering if the company is truly trying to meet their needs or simply cashing in on Nigeria’s inability to find alternatives. “They give us less content, fewer benefits and yet they keep jacking up the prices. It’s a total rip-off,” Mr. Chijioke added, underlining a belief that MultiChoice is getting too comfortable with its monopolistic status.
Smart TV, Streaming takes over
In the age of binge-watching and on-demand everything, Smart TVs and streaming giants like Netflix are pushing traditional pay-tv services like MultiChoice to the backseat. Why pay for channels you rarely watch when, with just a click, you can dive into endless libraries tailored precisely to your taste?
The appeal of streaming goes beyond just variety; Mrs Benedene Oji-Ogbuehi, it is the freedom to watch what you want, when you want, minus the ads and rigid schedules. As viewers flock to Netflix, Showmax, and Prime Video for seamless, personalised experiences, pay-tv services struggle to keep up, scrambling to stay relevant in a world that increasingly values choice over channels.
Mr. Kenny Okobia, a former DStv subscriber, illustrated this shift perfectly. He cancelled his subscription when the cost of the Confam plan rose from N7, 400 to N9, 300. “Customer service called me several times, and I kept giving them the same response. If you were in my shoes, would you still subscribe?”
Now, he is happily switched to YouTube for his entertainment needs, where he can pick exactly what he wants to watch, without any strings attached.
“Imagine paying N37,000 for a Premium package when there are constant power outages. Why not let customers pay for only the channels they want? If I only watch 10 channels, I should be able to subscribe to those 10 rather than paying for a bundle of 150 channels, most of which I never even visit.
“With the economic hardship we’re facing now, I can’t keep up with DStv’s costs. Meanwhile they keep repeating old movies every week while increasing subscription prices. Thankfully, we have alternatives where I can subscribe and cancel whenever I like,” said Nkechi Ogbah, a former DStv subscriber in Delta State.
Similarly, Latifah Olamide, a business owner and loyal DStv subscriber for over five years, found herself re-evaluating the value of her subscription.
According to her: “At first, I thought the price hikes were manageable, but now, with fuel prices so high and power constantly going off, I can’t justify paying that much for TV. To make matters worse, they keep deactivating people’s decoders in the name of wanting them to buy a new one.
“As a businesswoman, I don’t even have time to watch TV that I pay for. I have realised that it serves me better to download movies to watch on my TV with a flash drive.”
For customers like Latifah, the decision is clear: why pay more for less when streaming platforms offer more freedom, flexibility, and convenience?
Multichoice Combats Currency Collapse, Competition
The naira’s dramatic slide against the dollar has only added fuel to MultiChoice’s growing list of problems in Nigeria. The company recently reported losses from currency depreciation, which has significantly chipped away at its profitability.
To stay afloat, Multichoice has been forced to reduce its cash reserves in Nigeria from USD 39 million to a mere USD 11 million, citing the difficulties of repatriating funds and converting naira into hard currency.
But the challenges don’t end there. MultiChoice, once the uncontested giant of African broadcasting, is seeing its monopoly slowly unravel. Football, Africa’s unifying force, typically draws millions of eyes to its biggest event, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). However, in an unexpected turn, the broadcasting rights to AFCON 2024 was wrestled away from MultiChoice and handed to New World TV, a relatively new player with big ambitions.
For years, MultiChoice’s SuperSport has held a tight grip on African sports, securing exclusive deals with the likes of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. But in a shocking twist, the company lost the rights to AFCON to New World TV, a Togo-based broadcaster that coughed up a hefty $80 million for the privilege.
And this isn’t New World TV’s first major win, they also nabbed the 2023 FIFA World Cup rights for 19 Francophone countries, outbidding French giant Canal+ in the process.
It’s a classic David vs. Goliath moment in African broadcasting, leaving viewers wondering if the tide is turning against this pay-tv giant.
What Lies Ahead for MultiChoice?
MultiChoice’s CEO, Mawela, recently remarked that the company has been “right-sizing” its operations to weather mounting economic pressures, expressing cautious optimism for a return to profitability.
These strategic adjustments aim to stabilise MultiChoice’s footing across Africa, though the real battleground remains Nigeria, where entertainment has become a luxury amid economic hardship and an unreliable power grid.
In a bid to compete with global streaming giants, MultiChoice is also eyeing a major move: a potential $3 billion merger with French media powerhouse Canal+, owned by Vivendi SE.
Mawela shared that this merger, still awaiting regulatory approval, would blend MultiChoice’s dominance in English-speaking Africa with Canal+’s foothold in French-speaking regions. The envisioned alliance according to him could wield greater bargaining power for content deals and significantly bolster revenue.
Though MultiChoice’s recent price rollback may stem the subscriber exodus, for now, only sweeping economic reforms can make pay-tv affordable and sustainable for the average Nigerian household.
Until then, the company faces an uphill battle, navigating modern entertainment trends and a market rife with inflation, currency swings, and persistent power outages, daily challenges for millions of its teeming customers.
