MultiChoice jerks up subscription fees

BUSINESS

MultiChoice, Nigeria’s leading pay-TV provider, has announced a WIN-WIN offer for DStv subscribers following an upward review of its subscription fees. However, subscribers who renew their subscription before it expires stand to pay less on the old tariffs.

The new subscription fees are:  DStv Family, from N2, 800 to N3, 000; DStv Compact, from N4, 800 to N5, 000; DStv Compact Plus, from N7, 000 to N7, 500 and DStv Premium, from N10, 000 to N11, 000.

There is, however, no increase in the prices of DStv Access which remains at N1, 500, while the Dual View Access fees and the access fee for HDPVR both remain at N1, 800.

MultiChoice said the price increase has been necessitated by ongoing increases in the company’s operational and ancillary costs which include content acquisition and development, technical infrastructure, satellite lease, facilities and maintenance.

The company emphasized that while it is committed to keeping subscription prices low, it is forced to implement an increase in order to continue to provide quality programming, improved customer service and deliver on its promise to remain the choice pay entertainment destination on the African continent.

Empathetic to the impact this increase may have on its subscribers, the pay-TV provider will be offering a 10% special off the new subscription rates to interested subscribers who make payments before their subscription expires as part of a special offer which comes into effect from October 1.

This implies that each month a subscriber pays ahead of the service expiration, they get a 10% rebate on the subsequent month’s payment and this continues as long as the circle is unbroken.

“We are mindful of the current economic challenges and the impact on the purchasing power given the myriad of competing needs. As a family-oriented company, we have proposed this deal aimed at creating a WIN-WIN situation that ensures that this increase has no negative impact on our subscribers who take up our offer. Our esteemed subscribers will have an opportunity to pay less than they were previously paying,” said John Ugbe, Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria.

For subscribers who take advantage of the special offer, the 10% discount translates to N1,350 from N1,500 (N150 less than the new rate) for DStv Access; N2,700 from N3, 000 (N300 less than the new rate) for DStv Family; N4, 500 from N5, 000 (N500 less than the new rate) for DStv Compact; N6,750 from N7, 500 (N750 less than new rate) for DStv Compact Plus; and N9, 900 from N11, 000 (N1,100 less than the new rate) for the DStv Premium.

Ugbe added that with this new price regime, subscribers may pay less than the current subscription rate if they keep their subscription running without interruption. He also emphasized that DStv will continue to avail its subscriber’s quality programming and more value. “Our investments in Nigeria have translated in a better viewer experience as well as more value for money. We have started seeing some of the benefits, which includes the increasing profile of Nigerian sport and general entertainment content on DStv as seen across the African continent.”