Following Public Outrage, House Of Reps Orders MultiChoice To Suspend Subscription Price Increase
The House of Representatives has directed Multichoice, owner of Pay TV options, DStv and GOtv, to suspend the implementation of the hike in its subscription rate due to the prevailing economic realities.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Edo State, Esosa lyawe.
Moving the motion, Iyawe explained that the increase in May 2024 sparked a public outrage and many Nigerians who were already dealing with rising costs of living were forced to ditch their decoders even as they lamented the lack of competition in the pay-TV sector.
He said, “The House notes that Multichoice, the owner of Pay TV options DStv and GOtv, recently announced an increase in the prices of all its packages in Nigeria, citing prevalent economic factors leading to increased operational costs as their reason for the proposed increase.
“The 20-25 per cent hike in subscription prices would be the second time in less than a year, as the last hike was in May 2024.
“We are concerned that the increase in May 2024 sparked a public outrage and many Nigerians who were already dealing with rising costs of living were forced to ditch their decoders even as they lamented the lack of competition in the pay-TV sector.
“We are concerned that due to the dominant position of Multichoice in pay-TV, price increases always have a widespread impact and put consumers under undue pressure.”
He further argued that “The recent hike has triggered widespread criticism from subscribers, many of whom have taken to social media to express their frustration over frequent price hikes without a corresponding improvement in service quality.”
With the adoption of the motion, the House called on Multichoice to suspend its proposed increase in subscription prices in Nigeria pending exhaustive investigations.
The House further mandated its Committee on Commerce to investigate the arbitrary increase in subscription prices by Multichoice with a view to ensuring implementation of cost-effective policies in the pay-TV sector for consumers in Nigeria.
The committee is expected to report back in four weeks.
