…As Consumer Court Halts DSTV Price Increase

There’s a raging battle of competition in the cable television sector, with Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DSTV and GOTV at the receiving end of market attacks following its recent announcement of a price increase on all its bouquets with effect from May 1, 2024.

But a Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) sitting in Abuja, on Monday ordered Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited from carrying out its proposed price increases.

The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, gave the interim order following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal, in a ruling, restrained Multi-Choice from going ahead with the impending price increase schedule to take effect from May 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

“The 1st defendant is hereby restrained from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Shafii declared.

Onifade, in the suit marked: CCPT/OP/2/2024, had dragged Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal, News Agency of Nigeria reports.

In the suit filed on April 29, Onifade, also a legal practitioner, sought two orders. These include, “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant, whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from 1st May 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”

Last week, Multichoice announced an upward review of the prices of packages across DSTV and GOTV, citing the current high cost of business operations in Nigeria as the reason for the development.

According to the company, the latest price increase includes the DStv Premium package, which has increased from N29,500 to N37,000. Similarly, the DStv Compact+ went up from N19,800 to N25,000 while the Compact package increased from N12,500 to N15,700.

The Comfam package moved from N7,400 to N9,300. Yanga package moved up from 4,200 to N5,100 while the Padi package increased from N2,950 to N3,600. HDPVR was increased from N4,000 to N5,000, the Access Fees package from N4,000 to N5,000, and XtraView moved from N4,000 to N5,000.

Meanwhile, the Gotv Supa+ package moved from N12,500 to N15,700, the Supa package from N7,600 to N9,600, and the Max package from N5,700 to N7,200.

While the Jolli package was increased from N3,950 to N4,850, the Jinja package moved from N2,700 to N3,300 and the Smallie package from N1,300 to N1,575.

But Nigerians have shown their displeasure with the development, given the general hardship in the country. As a result, they did not hesitate to look for an alternative to DSTV.

Against this backdrop, a major competitor to DSTV has hit the Nigerian market and is being embraced massively by pay television subscribers. It is known as Silver Lake Television (SLTV). The new pay TV has recently caught the wave of the moment, which many Nigerians have seen as more affordable with almost equal services as long existing DSTV in the market.

With a purchase price of N23,000 and subscriptions ranging from N5,000 for the gold plan to N2,500 for the basic plan, SLTV has a programming mix of 55 channels, including 10 Sports channels that show live football matches from the Premier League, Champions League, Laliga, Seria A, and Europa League. The pay TV service has been mentioned as a replacement for DSTV, which has raised its price for the second time in six months.

Available channels on SLTV

Lauding the current provision from SLTV, which was recently launched in March this year, Nigerians on X (formerly Twitter) have different narratives to give about the cable. However, most of the comments are positive.

An X user name with username Adm. Emmanuel Mba (Acia) in his post stated that the best way to protest against the DSTV monopoly is to migrate to SLTV, which is serving him and his family better “Just had my SLTV decoder installed my kids are full of smiles 7 cartoon channels and me too because of the 11 sports channels. SLTV Do this one. Total of 51 Super Channels. Monthly subscription just #5K

The best way to protest against DSTV, Just Pot to SLTV for Better Experience”, he wrote. Another X user with the username JimmyGentle wrote “I have learnt that SLTV is the main deal now. Can we all dump @DStv for good? Haven’t they exploited Nigerians enough with this price increment every 4 months? News needs to get to SLTV to increase their marketing and online presence now!”

𝓗𝓸𝓶𝓮 & 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓾𝓵𝓽 also wrote “We are boycotting #dstvandgotv enough is enough!!! Please share alternative satellite service providers. I heard about SLTV and Starsat, recommend any good and effective alternative please

In contrast, some netizens expressed their scepticism about the development, questioning the new SLTV’s viability in competition with DSTV, which has been around for decades but still has exclusive rights to air some of Africa’s most desired channels.

“My problem is sustainability. HITV came with the same strategy and fell off after two years. Hope these guys won’t go the same route”, Carlos Sophia Charles fumes on X.

In a similar tone, PATRIOT OLAYINKA (P.O.) also asked a critical question “What Assurance Do We Have That They Won’t Sabotage SLTV The Way They Did To TSTV?

Can They Handle The Influx Of Subscribers Who Will Migrate From Those Wicked People To The SLTV?” It is legitimate for Nigerians to worry about the sustainability of DSTV’s competitor in beating the odds against Multichoice company which has been in existence in the country since 1993 and has seen many rivalries come and go while it remains unmoved.

It should be noted that the country experienced a similar trend several years ago when HiTV came with full force to stir the battle against the DSTV monopoly, but later failed. On February 1, 2007, HiTV, or High Television, a multi-channel digital satellite television service in Nigeria, was launched by Entertainment Highway Limited, the parent company of cable TV. The pay cable, then, was the first television platform in Africa to use Hypercable, a terrestrial pay-per-view TV decoder system.

When HiTV was launched in Nigeria, it was a ray of hope for cable TV subscribers in Nigeria that the monopolistic tendency of DSTV was about to be halted by a worthy competitor. HiTV showed great potential for the viewers with services and affordability, which Nigeria only enjoyed for five years.

Despite all the efforts of the company to stand strong in the face of competition, there was little the company could do when it was faced with financial challenges and a lack of further investment.

In one of his articles on his LinkedIn page, stating why HiTV could not keep up with DSTV, Toyin Subair, the owner of the company, explained that “HiTV collapsed essentially because of a clause in our original Shareholders Agreement, which allowed a group of founding shareholders to block the company raising money or selling off a subsidiary.

“This right was exercised to block our capital raise because it was believed to be a possible ploy by another group to take control of the company. We the management were caught in the middle and it took us another 8 months to pursue the alternative that was acceptable to the shareholders but by that time the equity market had gone bust, leaving us grovelling all over for debt.”

Many tech pundits speculated that the TV company was sabotaged by higher-ups who profited from competing companies.

Whatever the narrative, it is clear that breaking the monopoly in the pay-TV industry may not be as simple as it appears on the surface.