Broadcasting
Pay-Per-View: Cases For, Against DStv & Multichoice
By peter oluka
Multichoice has received a lot of tongue-lashing from the Nigerian subscribers, chiefly for DStv and GOtv’s inability to offer per-pay-view subscription to them over the years.
The cries have reached high heavens since TSTV, the new ‘beautiful bride’ in town, launched into the market promising a per-pay-consume subscription plan.
But, Multichoice has at different fora explained that Nigeria’s economy is not ripe for pay-per-view, because it is an expensive form of payment to the customers
Damilola Faustino, a freelance content developer in an article titled, ‘Breaking DSTV’s monopoly on PayTv in Nigeria’, once argued that a monopoly many Nigerians have struggled to understand or entrepreneurs have battled to break is that of DSTV. “It has, so far, defied nearly all competitions to dominate the PayTv industry in Nigeria.
“We can all recall how HiTV made a cameo attempt at shattering the monopoly. HiTV came like a thief in night, wrestle the rights to broadcast not only the English Premier League (EPL), which has a fanatical following in Nigeria, but also, the English FA, the UEFA champions League, and Europa Cup but in the morning; HiTv had crashed. HiTv which signed to air these matches for 4 years between 2007 and 2011; could not sustain the payment and competition, thus, lost the rights and was liquidated. Sad”, he wrote.
Faustino continues, “In the interim, the loss of the right to broadcast these matches jilted DSTV. It seemed like they went to restrategize and when it was time, they regained the rights to broadcast matches in Europe’s top leagues.
“It must be stated that regardless of the fact that DSTV lost the rights to broadcast the EPL, many Nigerians didn’t dispose-off their decoders. This is because DSTV has other interesting content besides football.
“This has been the trend since DSTV’s entry 22 years ago. It has won every competition. Take the entry of Startimes into Nigeria. It slashed the price of PayTv to make it affordable to especially low-income earners. There is no doubt that PayTv from China has their own market-share”.
But, DSTV responded by rolling out GOtv in 2011. The undeniable truth is that if you cannot afford DSTV, you can buy GOtv and still enjoy the same programming. Other PayTv that didn’t bother to take on DSTV include-DaarSat, Continental Satellite Limited Consat, and MyTV among others. They are arguably satisfied with their little share of the market.
Nevertheless, it is wrong if we describe DSTV’s domination of the PayTv industry in Nigeria as a monopoly. This is because the PayTv market has been made a level playing field since the deregulation of the broadcast industry in 1992. Hence, anyone can venture into the business. DSTV shouldn’t be faulted if they turn out to be the best and almost every Nigerian patronize them.
“This said”, Faustino opined “DSTV’s monopoly has made the PayTv channel somewhat arrogant especially when it comes to its subscriptions. Nigerians have complained about DSTV’s price regime and others have gone to court to challenge it. There are some services like access to Showmax by DSTV PVR subscribers enjoyed in South Africa, the home country of DSTV but, nothing has changed so far. Nigeria is a free market economy. No court nor regulatory body can tell DSTV how to run its business.
“Therefore, instead of focusing on the narrative of breaking DSTV’s monopoly, prospective entrepreneurs should simply pay attention to how to better DSTV in terms of content, and subscription.
“In addition, their efforts will be futile if they don’t hijack the rights to air the matches of major European leagues.
“It should strike a strong cord that the only time DSTV’s market dominance was threatened was when HiTv usurped the broadcast rights of the EPL. It was unexpected and within months, the number of households who own HiTv jumped significantly.
“Currently, DSTV has the right to broadcast the EPL between 2016 and 2019. This right cost the PayTv Company a whopping sum of 296 million pounds to show live EPL matches across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. For the 2013 to 2016 season, DSTV paid 205 million pounds. This means to win the rights, your pocket must be deep and have some powerful investors. Obviously, we can probably conclude that it will be difficult to break DSTV’s.
“However, if we dwell on this, prospective entrepreneurs may not be interested in the PayTv industry in Nigeria.
“DSTV should not be too comfortable as internet penetration continues to grow in Nigeria. Many Nigerians now own mobile phones and if data prices become more affordable, Nigerians will be able to watch live European matches on the internet. There will be less reliance on DSTV for watching the EPL”.
Now Enters TSTV
TSTV which stands for Telcom Satellite TV, is here in Nigeria to battle with DSTV. It launched last Sunday in Abuja with a promise to offer ‘Pay-As-You-Consume’ plan “which every other operator said was not possible in Nigeria before now.
“Pay-As-You-Consume” plan already praised for its simplicity will allow subscribers of TSTV pay for only programmes watched.
Bright Echefu, managing director of TSTV, during the signing of the multi-transponder agreement with their ABS partner disclosed that their services would offer viewers the experience of HD and SD video, internet services, broadband, TV and radio at a very affordable rate.
Hear him, “what makes the project unique is that it would start with 100 channels of local, regional and international in Yoruba, Igbo Hausa, Ghanaian, Sierra Leonean, Liberian Languages among others. It would also provide news, entertainment, education content”.
He argued that TSTV has the right content and premium product to satisfy the growing demand of Nigeria. “It would assist ABS take Nollywood and Sport to great height. Their sport channels is the bomb! EPL, La liga and Champion League is amazing!”
What Does Multichoice Think About All this
Multichoice strongly holds the view that Nigeria’s economy is not ripe for pay-per-view. Well, our stand is that we are not going to offer pay-per-view. One of the reasons we are not going to do it is because it is an expensive form of payment to the customers.
Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recently, Mr. Martin Mabutho, general manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria explained how it works: “pay-per-view is normally used when a special event is being broadcast. I will give you example of the boxing bout of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor; that we viewed to our subscribers at no additional cost.
“In America where pay-per-view facility is being offered, people paid $100, only for the fight. The next day if you don’t have subscription, you don’t see anything. For that reason, we don’t think it is a viable thing for us to do. We don’t believe that our market and can handle that”.
Warning:
While the price war is ragging, both DSTV/GOtv and TSTV should not be too comfortable as internet penetration continues to grow in Nigeria. Many Nigerians now own mobile phones and if data prices become more affordable, Nigerians will be able to watch live European matches on the internet. There will be less reliance on pay tv for watching the EPL.
A multimedia and live streaming platform pushing this frontier is Kwese sports owned by Econet Wireless. It signed a deal to broadcast the EPL across sub-Saharan Africa on a Free-To-Air basis for three seasons beginning from the 2016/2017 season. With this, Nigerians can watch the EPL for free as far as they have access to the internet.
Why it is generally believed DSTV has ‘monopolized’ the market due to its awesome content and owning the EPL right, however, TSTV with its drive to break the monopoly should not go the HiTv way. Perhaps, the best way to go now is live streaming which is becoming popular by the day.
Afia TV & Radio has announced its official entry into the Lagos media market, in its commitment to expanding the broadcaster’s footprint, connecting businesses to audiences across Nigeria, and redefining regional media excellence.
Chief Emeka Mba,
Nnamdi Obanya, general manager of Afia TV & Radio, said there is only one digital satellite and one digital station in the southeastern region of Nigeria, which is Afia.
Obanya, stated that: “We are specialists in developing products. A programme on our channel, ‘How Market’, is where we talk to the people in the market to tell their stories and advertise their products on AFIA.”
According to him, “the market world has changed a lot, as the physical market has become a ware house while people are buying digitally.”
Chief Emeka Mba, founder and CEO, stated: “The parley brought together top media buyers, advertising agencies, and communication professionals for engaging conversations around emerging trends, innovation, and future-forward strategies in media planning and buying. The event also served as a platform for Afia TV and radio to unveil its offerings, platforms, and unique value proposition to Lagos-based stakeholders.”
While noting that they are thrilled to bring Afia’s fresh, original, and regional perspective to Lagos, Mba said, “this parley signals our readiness to collaborate, innovate, and deliver impactful results for our partners through data-driven content and targeted reach especially for brands looking to penetrate the southern Nigerian market.”
Equipped with modern broadcast studios, digital-first production capabilities, and a highly experienced team, Afia TV & Radio is poised to make a bold impression on the Lagos media landscape.
The media brand delivers high-quality programming ranging from news and documentaries to lifestyle, business, culture, and entertainment only in south-east but in Lagos, African and beyond, we want to be chief marketing platform of the eastern region, we are the only 24/7 radio station now in Enugu.
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has warned disc jockeys (DJs) against publicly playing music without proper authorization or a valid license.
NAN reports that John Asein, NCC director-general, gave the warning in an advisory issued in Abuja.
He said the commission’s attention had been drawn to the growing practice of DJs playing music in public spaces without obtaining copyright licences from their approved collective management organisations (CMOs).
Asein said under sections 9 and 12 of the Copyright Act, 2022, only the owner of copyright in a musical work or sound recording has the exclusive right to reproduce, perform, or communicate it to the public.
The NCC threatened to prosecute defaulters in a case that could lead to a N1 million fine or a 5-year jail term upon conviction.
“Engaging in any of these acts without the owner’s authorisation constitutes an infringement under the Act,” he said.
“Such infringement may constitute a civil wrong or a criminal offence under section 44 (7), punishable upon conviction by a fine of not less than N1 million or imprisonment for a term of not less than five years or to both.”
Asein advised DJs to obtain the necessary licences and pay royalties to the approved CMO before performing music publicly.
The NCC director-general added that the commission will arrest and prosecute anyone found violating the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the approved CMO for musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria is the Musical Copyright Society, Nigeria (MCSN),” he said.
“The Commission is aware that the Disc Jockey’s Association of Nigeria (DJAN), as the umbrella body representing DJs in Nigeria, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with MCSN.
“Under the arrangement, DJAN is authorised to work with MCSN to facilitate the payment of royalties by DJs nationwide, based on the tariff that DJAN had negotiated with MCSN.”
Netflix has increased its subscription fees in Nigeria for the third time since 2024, with the Premium Plan rising by 21.43%, from ₦7,000 to ₦8,500 per month.
This marks the streaming platform’s first price adjustment in 2025.
Other subscription tiers have also been affected.
The Standard Plan now costs ₦6,500, up from ₦5,500—a hike of 18.18%.
The Basic Plan has increased from ₦3,500 to ₦4,000, while the Mobile Plan moved from ₦2,200 to ₦2,500, reflecting increases of 14.29% and 13.64% respectively.
The latest adjustment aligns with Netflix’s broader global pricing strategy, which the company has linked to its ongoing investment in content and platform development. In a previous communication to investors, Netflix stated, “As we invest in and improve Netflix, we’ll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements. Which in turn helps drive the positive flywheel of additional investment to further improve and grow our service.”
While the company did not explicitly cite inflation in its most recent update, its website indicates that local economic factors influence its pricing structure.
“Price changes are made to respond to local market changes, such as changes to local taxes or inflation,” the statement read.
The move mirrors similar pricing shifts among other major digital and entertainment services in Nigeria.
Companies including Google, DSTV, GOtv, and Microsoft have also raised subscription rates, attributing their decisions to continued inflationary pressures and a weakening naira.
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