AZUBIKE NNADOZIE
The expectations of Nigerian DStv subscribers to enjoy price reduction as recently announced by the parent body, MultiChoice Africa, appears to have been dashed as the company says Nigeria was not among the African countries to enjoy such reprieve.
MultiChoice recently decided to reduce its subscription fees in some of its key markets across Africa.
The company intends to cut subscription rates of DSTV and GOtv in selected countries but stated that Nigerian subscribers will not be among the beneficiaries.
According to some Nigerian subscribers, despite the fact that Nigeria ranks next to South Africa in market volume and value for the pay-TV company, it remains insistent about keeping Nigeria out of this consideration, citing cost of doing business and other difficulties as reasons for not including Nigeria.
Recall that MultiChoice increased subscription rate in Nigeria last year and the action provoked subscribers who protested against the price hike on social media but the complaints weren’t enough to force MultiChoice to revoke the price change.
They went to court and the case has remained in court, and their call for a pay-as-you-view package as is done in some countries went unheeded.
In a recent interview, the Group Executive Head, Corporate Affairs for MultiChoice Africa, Reatile Tekateka, explained why the price reduction will only affect the subscribers in the selected countries.
According to him, the impact of local dynamics on cost structures determines subscription price.
“Not all markets where MultiChoice Africa operates will have the same price changes as each country has different cost structures influenced by local dynamics such as inflation, content costs, foreign exchange rates, local taxes and overheads required for each business.
“These are taken into account when setting prices for DStv and GOtv packages. We’ve done a lot of research into what pay-TV costs in other parts of the world and we believe that our DStv and GOtv services offer good value for money in the countries in which we operate,” Tekateka told TVwithThinus.
He explained that apart from the fact that Nigeria is not a member of the East African region, the difficulty companies experience in the process of doing business in the country has been a huge challenge. This is the reason the prices of goods and services are mostly higher in Nigeria compared to other countries.
The cost of doing business in Nigeria is also a problem for multinational companies as they need basic amenities to run their businesses effectively. These amenities which are provided by governments in other countries are currently absent in Nigeria.
