A Non-Governmental Organisation, Save the Consumers, has strongly condemned the recent 2 per cent price hike implemented by MultiChoice Nigeria on its DStv and GOtv services, effective March 1, 2025.
The group, which advocates for consumer rights, described the increase as unjustifiable, especially when compared to MultiChoice’s simultaneous decision to slash prices by up to 38% and enhance value for subscribers in South Africa.
It described the move as “not only insensitive and exploitative, but also blatantly discriminatory.”
In a statement, Executive Director of Save the Consumers, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, said, “Coming less than a year after the May 2024 price hike in Nigeria, the new increase openly defies a directive from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to suspend all price adjustments pending the conclusion of ongoing investigations.
“It reflects MultiChoice’s clear disregard for both Nigerian consumers and regulatory authority.
“Even more troubling is the company’s simultaneous enhancement of service offerings and reduction of prices for South African customers.”
Ilias further said, “In South Africa, MultiChoice has lowered fees on various products, added new channels, and introduced features that improve the user experience, all while acknowledging the financial pressures faced by South African households.
“This double standard, lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria, amounts to economic discrimination and reinforces long-standing concerns about MultiChoice’s exploitative approach toward the Nigerian market.
“It is indefensible for MultiChoice to cite inflation in Nigeria as justification for the hike while offering consumer-friendly pricing in South Africa. This reflects a disturbing double standard, with Nigerian consumers continuing to suffer under a near-monopolistic market structure that MultiChoice exploits with impunity.”
The group further claimed that while MultiChoice cited the need to provide “world-class content” as the reason for the price increase, Nigerian subscribers continue to endure ongoing service issues that have remained unaddressed despite repeated complaints.
“These include repetitive content, frequent service disruptions, and poor value for money. Rather than resolving these issues, MultiChoice has chosen to penalise its loyal Nigerian customers with higher prices, once again proving that profit, not service or fairness, is its primary motivation.
“Meanwhile, South African subscribers benefit from reduced pricing, such as the ‘Add Movies’ bolt-on slashed by 38 per cent to R49, alongside additional channels and enhanced streaming features.
“MultiChoice CEO Byron Du Plessis’s justification that these changes are due to ‘financial pressures faced by households’ further demonstrates the company’s hypocritical and disingenuous treatment of Nigerian consumers, who are themselves grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis,” it stated.
The group further stated that MultiChoice’s dominance in Nigeria’s pay-TV market, sustained by the absence of effective competition, has encouraged its monopolistic behaviour.
It noted that the company’s ability to raise prices without concern for losing market share underscores the urgent need for regulatory action, stressing that Nigerian consumers are essentially held captive in a market with limited options and widespread exploitation.
The NGO also called on the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to take decisive action to promote genuine competition in the pay-TV industry and break MultiChoice’s stranglehold on the Nigerian market.
