Broadcasting
Harassment of Multichoice Spells Trouble for Other Investors
Nigeria is gradually turning from a market darling to a risky land in the eyes of many investors.
Policies somersaults; regulatory instability; large scale distractions from lawmakers as well as opinions of ill-informed experts are conspiring to hobble Nigeria’s fledgling broadcasting industry,
And the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has also opened itself to a needless controversy in current bid to regulate the broadcast industry.
Elsewhere, either by ignorance or mischief, the House of Representatives is hounding Multichoice, operators of DStv and GOtv over current pricing model.
The House ad-hoc committee is convinced that the pay-TV operator is ripping Nigerians off with its current pricing model and has resolved to force change by compelling cable service providers to switch to a pay-per-view (PPV) or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pricing model.
According to weetracker.com, the PPV/PAYG option might prove a bigger problem because pay-TV companies like Multichoice Group expend hundreds of millions of dollars acquiring broadcasting/licensing rights all over the world.
Some companies acquire broadcasting rights for years at a time with upfront payment.
“For instance, Multichoice’s popular DStv sports channel, SuperSport, paid EUR 296 Mn (USD 332.05 Mn, at today’s rates) for the 2016-19 Barclays Premier League broadcast rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.” weetracker.com reported.
After paying so much to acquire these rights, companies like Multichoice recoup this money from subscriptions while targeting profits.
But sometimes the margins are quite narrow.
According to weetracker.com, if Multichoice gets strong-armed into going the PAYG or PPV route in Nigeria, there is hardly a doubt that the company will adjust its pricing to offset the difference and make their money back; such that the PPV/PAYG option might prove even more costly for subscribers after all checks and balances are done.
But even this point is moot as Multichoice has previously made it clear that it is incapable of implementing the PPV model.
Nico Meyer, CEO of MultiChoice Africa, told an entertainment content conference that was held in Mauritius in 2014 that his company has no capacity to put in place such a facility.
“We procure content on a monthly basis, we don’t procure it based on the time the consumer will be using it, but on an entire month,” said Meyer.
The MultiChoice Africa boss added that, unlike mobile operators and electricity companies, they were unable to detect when their subscribers are actually using their service.
“If you buy airtime and you consume it, they will deduct it because they can tell. But we cannot tell when someone is traveling or not using it.
“All I know is that someone pays on a monthly basis and we make that service available but I cannot tell if you are consuming the service,” he said.
By the admission of Armstrong Idachaba, acting director-general, NBC, the agency has on many occasions compared the tariffs in Nigeria with those of other African countries and found out that Nigeria’s rates are much lower in some cases, including the company’s home country, South Africa, where it actually has a far greater number of subscribers.
As of November 2019, the group’s overall subscriber base stood at 18.9 million households with South Africa single-handedly accounting for 8.2 million of those.
The remaining 49 countries where Multichoice broadcasts, including Nigeria, collectively make up 10.7 million.
Of DSTV’s 13.5 million subscribers in Sub-Saharan, Nigeria accounts for barely 1.5 million.
This should put to bed any talk of Nigeria’s being Multichoice’s largest market, as South Africa actually has nearly 5-times Nigeria’s total DStv subscriptions.
Another misconception that is common among Nigerians is the unfounded idea that the group offers the PPV option in South Africa.
According to weetracker.com, this s is a bogus and untrue claim as Multichoice is not known to offer such anywhere.
Indeed, DStv and GOtv bouquet prices increased significantly recently but this may not be unconnected to the revised taxing regime that came into effect this year.
Earlier this year, Nigeria had implemented a new Value-Added Tax (VAT) regime which was a 50 percent climb from the previous figure.
The move by NBC to upend the existing right of broadcasters to exclusivity of their content indicates a descent to feudalism–a dominant social and economic system in medieval Europe where ownership of land and other factors of production is by privilege of birth and not on the basis of innovation and hard work.
Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) in Abuja has dismissed a class action suit filed by one Uche Diala and 961 other DStv and GOtv subscribers against MultiChoice Nigeria and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), citing lack of jurisdiction.
The suit challenged MultiChoice’s subscription price increases in November 2023 and May 2024, which the claimants described as arbitrary, exploitative, and unfair.
Diala and others sought to reverse the hikes and compel the company to adopt a more flexible billing model, such as a pay-as-you-view system used in other countries like South Africa.
They also accused MultiChoice of price discrimination against Nigerian consumers.
MultiChoice, through its counsel, raised a preliminary objection, arguing that pricing decisions do not fall within the tribunal’s remit and that the suit was improperly filed as a class action without first seeking the tribunal’s leave.
In its ruling on Thursday, the tribunal’s three-member panel led by Justice Thomas Okosun held that the core issues raised, which were pricing and tariff regulation, fall under the exclusive purview of the executive branch, particularly the President, as stipulated under the Price Control Act.
“The issue of price regulation is a matter that falls within the exclusive purview of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Okosun stated.
While the tribunal acknowledged it holds both original and appellate jurisdiction under the FCCPC Act, it emphasized that such authority does not cover general price control unless abuse of market dominance is established—a point the claimants failed to prove.
On the procedural matter of filing a class action without prior approval, the tribunal noted that although it is ideal to obtain leave, failure to do so was not fatal in this instance since the claimants demonstrated a shared grievance and common interest.
Nonetheless, the tribunal upheld MultiChoice’s objection, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter.
“The preliminary objection of the first defendant succeeds,” the panel held. “This suit is accordingly struck out for want of jurisdiction.”
This ruling follows a similar outcome on May 8, when a Federal High Court in Abuja upheld MultiChoice’s price increases after the company sued the FCCPC.
In that judgment, Justice James Omotoso declared that the FCCPC lacked the authority to fix or suspend subscription rates.
MultiChoice Nigeria has slashed the price of its DStv decoder from N20,000 to N10,000, representing a 50 percent drop, in a aim at attracting attract more customers and curb declining subscriptions.
The campaign, titled “We’ve Got You,” was launched on June 16 and will continue until July 31.
Also, as part of its efforts to ease economic pressure on households and improve access to digital TV services, the campaign offers a free upgrade for both active and returning customers.
Speaking on the campaign, John Ugbe, chief executive officer (CEO) of MultiChoice Nigeria, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to rewarding loyalty and enhancing daily viewing experiences.
“We want to ensure our customers feel appreciated and have access to the best entertainment every day,” Ugbe said.
“The ‘We’veGot You’ campaign is about making premium content more accessible and showing that DStv offers something for everyone, not just football fans.
“By repositioning itself as a platform for daily value, DStv aims to encourage content discovery across a wider array of genres, including movies, drama, kids’ programming, and news.
“This means more channels, more shows, and more reasons to tune in every day.”
The development comes amid MultiChoice Nigeria’s legal battle with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over price hike.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) will, on Oct. 7, arraigned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar Airways, Mr Temi Birdzell, alongside the company and its top officers, over allegations bordering on breach of FCCPC Act, 2018.
The defendants will be arraigned before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Others to be arraigned with Birdzell are Stella Ihediwa, the Account Manager of the airline; Kennedy Chirchir, the Country Manager and Eva Ojeje, who is the Sales Manager of the company.
Although the arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, the matter could not proceed.
Upon resumed hearing, none of the defendants was in court.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, none of the defendants was in court due to improper service of the court documents, including the hearing notice, on them.
FCCPC.’s lawyer, Chizenum Nsitem, told the court of their inability to serve four of the defendants, although the company was served.
Nsitem then sought an adjournment to enable them do the needful and the judge adjourned the matter until Oct. 7 for the defendants to take their plea.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/200/2025, dragged Qatar Airways, Birdzell, Ihediwa, Chirchir and Ojeje to court as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
FCCPC, in the application dated May 26 but filed May 27, had preferred a two-count charge against the defendants.
The defendants were alleged to have failed to appear before FCCPC in compliance with a lawful summons of the commission dated Sept. 6, 2024, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 33 (3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) Act, 2018.
They were also accused to have on Sept. 18, 2024, intentionally withheld the production of documents in compliance wth a lawful summons of the commission, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 111 of FCCP Act, 2018.
In count three, they were alleged to have on Sept. 18, 2024, engaged in the contravention of the consumer rights, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 124(1) and punishable under Section 155 of the same Act.
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