There was public outrage among Nigerians on Monday as information hit the airwaves that MultiChoice has concluded arrangements to effect a price adjustment of five per cent increase on all its DStv and GOtv packages from May 1, 2017.
Consequent of the increase, subscribers on the DStv premium bouquet will pay N14, 700 as against N13, 980 currently being charged while GOtv-Plus subscribers will pay N1, 900 instead of the current rate of N1, 800.
The increase has been described as insensitive coming now when recession is not waning and economic hardship is biting harder.
Moreover, the power situation according to a cross section of customers has made it impossible to watch programmes from the MultiChoice television thus making mockery of hard earned money invested in DSTV and GOtv subscription.
The company said the increment in subscription rates will also affect other bouquets, like Compact Plus.
DStv subscribers will pay N9, 900 instead of the current N9, 420, while Compact subscribers will no longer pay N6, 000 but N6, 300.
It said that the new rate for the Family bouquet would be N3, 800 against the running rate of N3, 600, while that of the Access bouquet would be N1, 900 and not N1, 800.
Recall that the current rate for the Commercial bouquet is N1, 720, but with the adjustment in rates, subscribers will have to cough out N1, 850 monthly.
The pay TV platform, however said that access fee of N2, 160 for the High-Definition decoders and extra view remained the same.
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A text message sent out by DStv to some of its Premium subscribers said, “Dear DStv customer, due to a price adjustment, your Premium package fee changed from N13, 980 to N14, 700, effective May 1, 2017.”
For, GOtv Value and GOtv Lite bouquets, the new rates are N1, 300 and N450, against the current rates of N1, 200 and N400 respectively.
Contacted for clarification, the Managing Director, MultiChoice, John Ugbe, said the decision was taken after careful consideration of the market and review of its business operations.
He said, “We announced last year that we would do everything possible to hold the price barring any extreme factors.
“However, all our content is purchased in dollars and although we have done everything possible to hold the prices even with the prices of everything else going up, we are now left with no choice but to adjust our subscription prices from May 1.
“Our key priority is to put subscribers’ needs at the heart of everything we do and, therefore, in determining the price adjustment, we took into account many factors, including the impact on the customer; current inflation, which stands at 19 per cent; programming costs; and efficiencies within the company.”
Ugbe said that MultiChoice had worked hard to keep the fees manageable.
He said, “The DStv Premium, DStv Compact+, DStv Compact, DStv Family and DStv Access packages will continue to be available at varying pricing points to allow subscribers flexibility in price and choice without compromising quality or variety. We thank our customers for their support during the past year.”
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