Rep wants Multichoice probed over incessant price hike

Perturbed by the recent hike by Multichoice Nigeria, a Federal lawmaker representing Oredo Federal constituency, Esosa Iyawe, on Wednesday, alerted the House of the need to probe the incessant subscription price increase by the management of Multichoice, the operators of DStv and GOtv.

He noted that the probe became necessary and urged its Committee on Commerce to investigate the alleged frequent price hikes and recommend policies to ensure fair pricing for Nigerian subscribers.

Iyawe in the motion raised under Matters of Urgent Public Importance during plenary called on the management of Multichoice, the operator of DStv and GOtv, to suspend its planned subscription price increase, citing the current economic hardship facing Nigerians as his reason for the motion.

Iyawe in his motion highlighted that the current planned price increase by Multichoice would be the second price hike in less than a year, with the last increase in May 2024.

The lawmakers also launched an investigation into the recurring price hikes by the Pay-TV provider, adding that this marks the second increase in less than a year.

Iyawe also noted that past increments had sparked widespread public outrage, with many Nigerians, already struggling financially, abandoning their decoders due to the lack of competition in the pay-TV sector.

He argued that Multichoice’s dominance in the market meant that any price increase had a widespread impact, placing subscribers under undue financial pressure.

Multichoice had recently announced a hike in subscription rates across all its packages, citing rising operational costs.

According to Multichoice, effective March 1, the DStv Premium package would rise from ₦37,000 to ₦44,500, while Compact+ subscribers would pay ₦30,000 instead of ₦25,000. The Compact bouquet was also set to increase from ₦17,000 to ₦19,000.

Following the adoption of the motion, the House mandated its Committee on Commerce to investigate the frequent price hikes and recommend policies to ensure fair pricing for Nigerian subscribers.

The committee was given four weeks to submit its findings.