Save the Consumers, a Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisation ( NGO) committed to defending consumer rights has strongly condemn the recent 21 percent price increase imposed by MultiChoice Nigeria on its DStv and GOtv services, effective March 1, 2025.
This comes in stark contrast to the company\u2019s decision to reduce prices by up to 38 per cent with enhanced value for its South African subscribers during the same period.
This action is not only insensitive and exploitative, but also blatantly discriminatory, coming less than a year after the May 2024 price hike in Nigeria, it said.
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\u2019s clear disregard for both Nigerian consumers and regulatory authority.
In a statement made available to Journalists yesterday in Abuja, the Executive Director, Save the Customers, Dr. Aliyu Ilias stressed that even more troubling is the company\u2019s simultaneous enhancement of service offerings and reduction of prices for South African customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 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.
\u201cThis double standard, lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria, amounts to economic discrimination and reinforces long-standing concerns about MultiChoice\u2019s exploitative approach toward the Nigerian market.
\u201cIt 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,\u2019\u2019 the group stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While MultiChoice claims the price hike is necessary to deliver \u201cworld-class content,\u201d Nigerian subscribers still face persistent challenges that remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints, these include repetitive content, frequent service disruptions, and poor value for money.
\u201cRather 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,\u2019\u2019 the group said.
Meanwhile, South African subscribers benefit from reduced pricing, such as the \u201cAdd Movies\u201d bolt-on slashed by 38 percent to R49, alongside additional channels and enhanced streaming features. MultiChoice CEO Byron Du Plessis\u2019s justification that these changes are due to \u201cfinancial pressures faced by households\u201d further demonstrates the company\u2019s hypocritical and disingenuous treatment of Nigerian consumers, who are themselves grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis.
MultiChoice\u2019s dominance in Nigeria\u2019s pay-TV sector, enabled by a lack of effective competition, has emboldened its monopolistic practices. The ease with which it increases prices without fear of losing market share highlights the urgent need for regulatory intervention. Nigerian consumers are effectively held captive in a market where choice is limited and abuse is rampant.
\u2018\u2019The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) must take decisive steps to foster genuine competition in the pay-TV sector and dismantle MultiChoice\u2019s stranglehold on the market.
\u2018\u2019Save the Consumers demands the immediate reversal of the March 2025 price hike, compensation for subscribers affected by repeated, unjustified price increases and service deficiencies, and full compliance with the FCCPC\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2019We urge the FCCPC to initiate legal proceedings against MultiChoice for its defiance of regulatory orders and its disregard for consumer welfare. A transparent investigation into its pricing model, service quality, and compliance with Nigerian competition and consumer protection laws is essential.
\u2018\u2019We call on Nigerian consumers to explore alternative platforms and consider boycotting DStv and GOtv until MultiChoice demonstrates genuine respect for their rights.
\u2018\u2019MultiChoice\u2019s discriminatory pricing, rewarding South African subscribers with lower costs and better services while exploiting Nigerians, is a glaring example of unchecked corporate greed. Save the Consumers stands firmly with Nigerian subscribers in rejecting this injustice and calls on all stakeholders to hold MultiChoice accountable.
\u2018\u2019The Nigerian market deserves dignity, not exploitation. No company should be allowed to operate above the law or treat Nigerian consumers as second-class subscribers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Save the Consumers, a Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisation ( NGO) committed to defending consumer rights has strongly condemn the recent 21 percent price increase imposed by MultiChoice Nigeria on its DStv and GOtv services, effective March 1, 2025. This comes in stark contrast to the company\u2019s decision to reduce prices by up to 38 per cent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FCCPC-vs-MultiChoice.jpg?fit=700%2C399&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13107,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13106\/revisions\/13107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}