The Nigerian government on Thursday said it would review the recent price increases in Multi-Choice cable subscriptions to ensure subscribers in Nigeria get value for their money.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Acting CEO, Adamu Abdullahi, made this known during an interview on Channels TV on its Abuja programme on Thursday.
The management of Multichoice Nigeria had announced a fresh hike in the prices of subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages, barely four months after the previous fee adjustment.
According to an email sent to customers on Wednesday, the new prices on its DSTV and GOtv packages would take effect on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
The new prices affect both new subscribers and existing customers renewing their packages.
Giving the reason for the fresh hike, the company said the new price adjustment came as a result of the persistent increase in the cost of production within the country.
The pay television outlet increased the subscription fee for packages on both platforms from about 20 percent to about 26 percent, depending on the package.
For instance, the cost of the DStv Premium Package was increased from the old price of N29,500 to the new price of N37,000. The cost of the Compact Plus package was increased from N19,800 to N25,000.
The Compact package moved from N12,500 to N15,700; Confam package was increased from N7,400 to N9,300; Yanga moved from N4,200 to N5,100; Padi that was N2,950 is now N3,360; HDPVR Access Service – N4,000 moved to a new price of N5,000; Access fees old price N4,000 increased to N5,000 and XtraView old price N4,000 increased to N5,000.
For GOtv package: Supa+ increased from N12,500 to N15,700; Supa old increased from N7,600 to N9,600; Max increased from N5,700 to N7,200; Jolli increased from N3,950 to N4,850; Jinja package increased from N2,700 to N3,300; and Smallie package increased from N1,300 to N1,575.
The new subscription price in the email signed by Chief Executive Officer, Multichoice, John Ugbe, explained that the move would allow the firm to provide more quality content to its subscribers’ homes across the country.
Some Nigerians have expressed outrage over the development, describing the price adjustment as unjustified.