Dstv, GoTv Subscribers May Pay More From September

Barely one year after the last subscription fee increase, there
are strong indicators that Multichoice Nigeria will increase the
subscription fee across all its DStv and GOtv packages from
September 2021.

A source close to the company revealed that subscription prices
may increase by about 10% with premium package going as high
N21,000, Compact Plus will go above N14,000 and GOtv Max
subscription jumping to slightly above N4000, once the new price
takes effect.

This is not a lone occurrence for Nigerian subscribers, as
Multichoice has increased the subscription charges in other African
countries over the last 6 months. This week, Ghana, Malawi, and
Tanzania announced a new price regime from September 1.

MultiChoice Ghana’s latest increase is coming just 6 months
after its last price hike. MultiChoice Ghana gave no reasons to its
customers or the media for its latest price hike. From September 1,
DStv Premium will rise by 5.6% from GHS369 (R913) per month to
GHS390 (R965) per month, DStv Compact Plus by 5.26% from GHS228 to
GHS240, while DStv Compact will increase by 5.2% from GHS152 to
GHS160.

MultiChoice Tanzania equally announced a 5 – 9 percent increase
on its DStv subscription charges on all bouquets with effect from
September 1, but didn’t provide its customers with any reason.
According to the reports and text messages sent to subscribers, the
Premium bouquet will now cost Sh145,000 (formerly Sh139,000), the
Compact Plus tariff plan will cost Sh93,000 (formerly Sh89,000),
while the Compact tariff plan will cost Sh51,000 (formerly
Sh49,000) for monthly subscriptions.

Just last week, MultiChoice Kenya announced price increases
ranging from 5 to 9 percent for DStv and GOtv customers, effective
September 1, 2021. Customers on the Premium tariff will pay KES
8,400 per month (formerly KES 7,900), the Compact Plus will
increase from KES 4,800 to KES 5,100, while Compact will increase
from KES 2,650 to KES 2,800. DStv Family will now cost KES 1,500
(from KES1380) while DStv Access will cost KES 1,050 (from KES1
000). Similar increases are also seen across the GOtv packages.

Multichoice Uganda also announced a 6 percent increase in
subscription prices for all packages.

In South Africa, a 1 – 6 percent price increase took effect on
Thursday 1 April 2021. Premium, Compact, and Compact Plus
subscriptions were increased by R10 monthly to become R829, R409,
and R529 respectively. The DStv Family package went up from R279 to
R295, while DStv Access increased from R110 to R115.

Despite the probe by the Nigerian Senate in 2016, over alleged
unwholesome practices and unreasonable subscription hikes,
Multichoice Nigeria still makes price adjustment a yearly ritual.
The company has hiked its subscriptions by an average of 31% in
five years.

In 2020, the pay-TV increased subscription price twice within a
space of three months. Recall that there was a price increase in
June 2020 (to reflect a 2.5% VAT) and another 9 – 14 percent
increase in subscription prices in August 2020. The 10 – 14%
increase across board from September 2021, is coming exactly one
year after the last one.

Although Multichoice Nigeria is yet to make an official
announcement to this, this is the same trend experienced last year
before the charges were increased in Nigeria and Nigerians are not
happy about what is now seen as an annual price hike.

“This appears to be a yearly affair. Last year, there was an
increase and now again? If this actually happens, I might have to
look for an alternative source of entertainment. I mean, how much
television do I watch in a month that I should be spending as much
as N20,000 on premium subscription?”, Mr. Henry Ojei, a DStv
subscriber in Lagos said.

“Going at this rate, Multichoice might be asking people to spend
as much as half their salaries on pay-TV subscriptions in the
coming years. Who knows? Salaries do not increase on an annual
basis so why should Multichoice increase its charges every year?
Maybe there is a class of consumers that they are out to serve, but
it doesn’t look like the average Nigerian worker is part of
this”.

Another subscriber bemoaned his decision to buy the DStv decoder
during the decoder slash price in July, stating that it now seems
like the promo was a strategy to reel in more customers before
announcing this increase.

Multichoice appears to have an annual tradition of hiking
prices, after doing some sort of promotion to get in more
customers. The first subscription fee increase was in September
2009, and the next came in April 2011 (8 to 12 percent hike).
August 2012 had a 10% increase in all its bouquets, and August 2015
brought a 20% increase in all its bouquets.

There has been at least one price hike in subscription fees
every year and the result is that most of the packages have almost
doubled since then. For instance, DStv Premium has gone N9,000 in
2009 to N18,400 in 2020. This is over 100 percent cumulative price
change already. The new price which takes effect in September 2021
will bring the price to N20,902, a total of 132 percent price hike
in 12 years.

Reacting to the last increase in August 2020, commentators had
said the DStv price increase would put more pressures on
subscribers who were managing to sustain themselves amid the
Covid-19 pandemic, causing some of them to downgrade to lower
packages.

The reaction from Simon Camerer, Chief Operating Officer for
MultiChoice, that customers should negotiate a ‘long-term contract’
rather than the monthly plans, to save themselves some money is in
itself a pointer that Multichoice might keep on with this annual
price hike in the coming years.

Barely one year after the last subscription fee increase, there
are strong indicators that Multichoice Nigeria will increase the
subscription fee across all its DStv and GOtv packages from
September 2021.

A source close to the company revealed that subscription prices
may increase by about 10% with premium package going as high
N21,000, Compact Plus will go above N14,000 and GOtv Max
subscription jumping to slightly above N4000, once the new price
takes effect.

This is not a lone occurrence for Nigerian subscribers, as
Multichoice has increased the subscription charges in other African
countries over the last 6 months. This week, Ghana, Malawi, and
Tanzania announced a new price regime from September 1.

MultiChoice Ghana’s latest increase is coming just 6 months
after its last price hike. MultiChoice Ghana gave no reasons to its
customers or the media for its latest price hike. From September 1,
DStv Premium will rise by 5.6% from GHS369 (R913) per month to
GHS390 (R965) per month, DStv Compact Plus by 5.26% from GHS228 to
GHS240, while DStv Compact will increase by 5.2% from GHS152 to
GHS160.

MultiChoice Tanzania equally announced a 5 – 9 percent increase
on its DStv subscription charges on all bouquets with effect from
September 1, but didn’t provide its customers with any reason.
According to the reports and text messages sent to subscribers, the
Premium bouquet will now cost Sh145,000 (formerly Sh139,000), the
Compact Plus tariff plan will cost Sh93,000 (formerly Sh89,000),
while the Compact tariff plan will cost Sh51,000 (formerly
Sh49,000) for monthly subscriptions.

Just last week, MultiChoice Kenya announced price increases
ranging from 5 to 9 percent for DStv and GOtv customers, effective
September 1, 2021. Customers on the Premium tariff will pay KES
8,400 per month (formerly KES 7,900), the Compact Plus will
increase from KES 4,800 to KES 5,100, while Compact will increase
from KES 2,650 to KES 2,800. DStv Family will now cost KES 1,500
(from KES1380) while DStv Access will cost KES 1,050 (from KES1
000). Similar increases are also seen across the GOtv packages.

Multichoice Uganda also announced a 6 percent increase in
subscription prices for all packages.

In South Africa, a 1 – 6 percent price increase took effect on
Thursday 1 April 2021. Premium, Compact, and Compact Plus
subscriptions were increased by R10 monthly to become R829, R409,
and R529 respectively. The DStv Family package went up from R279 to
R295, while DStv Access increased from R110 to R115.

Despite the probe by the Nigerian Senate in 2016, over alleged
unwholesome practices and unreasonable subscription hikes,
Multichoice Nigeria still makes price adjustment a yearly ritual.
The company has hiked its subscriptions by an average of 31% in
five years.

In 2020, the pay-TV increased subscription price twice within a
space of three months. Recall that there was a price increase in
June 2020 (to reflect a 2.5% VAT) and another 9 – 14 percent
increase in subscription prices in August 2020. The 10 – 14%
increase across board from September 2021, is coming exactly one
year after the last one.

Although Multichoice Nigeria is yet to make an official
announcement to this, this is the same trend experienced last year
before the charges were increased in Nigeria and Nigerians are not
happy about what is now seen as an annual price hike.

“This appears to be a yearly affair. Last year, there was an
increase and now again? If this actually happens, I might have to
look for an alternative source of entertainment. I mean, how much
television do I watch in a month that I should be spending as much
as N20,000 on premium subscription?”, Mr. Henry Ojei, a DStv
subscriber in Lagos said.

“Going at this rate, Multichoice might be asking people to spend
as much as half their salaries on pay-TV subscriptions in the
coming years. Who knows? Salaries do not increase on an annual
basis so why should Multichoice increase its charges every year?
Maybe there is a class of consumers that they are out to serve, but
it doesn’t look like the average Nigerian worker is part of
this”.

Another subscriber bemoaned his decision to buy the DStv decoder
during the decoder slash price in July, stating that it now seems
like the promo was a strategy to reel in more customers before
announcing this increase.

Multichoice appears to have an annual tradition of hiking
prices, after doing some sort of promotion to get in more
customers. The first subscription fee increase was in September
2009, and the next came in April 2011 (8 to 12 percent hike).
August 2012 had a 10% increase in all its bouquets, and August 2015
brought a 20% increase in all its bouquets.

There has been at least one price hike in subscription fees
every year and the result is that most of the packages have almost
doubled since then. For instance, DStv Premium has gone N9,000 in
2009 to N18,400 in 2020. This is over 100 percent cumulative price
change already. The new price which takes effect in September 2021
will bring the price to N20,902, a total of 132 percent price hike
in 12 years.

Reacting to the last increase in August 2020, commentators had
said the DStv price increase would put more pressures on
subscribers who were managing to sustain themselves amid the
Covid-19 pandemic, causing some of them to downgrade to lower
packages.

The reaction from Simon Camerer, Chief Operating Officer for
MultiChoice, that customers should negotiate a ‘long-term contract’
rather than the monthly plans, to save themselves some money is in
itself a pointer that Multichoice might keep on with this annual
price hike in the coming years.