Multichoice Group, the South African pay-TV giant has reported a significant drop in its Nigerian subscriber base, losing 243,000 subscribers from its DStv and GOtv services between April and September 2024 due to inflation.
This decline was disclosed in the company’s Interim Financial Results, released on Tuesday, for the six months ending September 30.
The company attributed the losses to Nigeria’s high inflation rate, which exceeds 30%, with soaring costs of food, electricity, and fuel making TV subscriptions less affordable for many households.
In an earlier report for the fiscal year ending March 2024, Multichoice noted an 18% reduction in its Nigerian subscriber base, though specific numbers were not disclosed at that time.
The company further highlighted sustained subscriber losses across its Rest of Africa operations, which saw a total decline of 566,000 subscribers in the six-month period under review.
This is an improvement from the previous six months, during which 803,000 subscribers were lost.
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Multichoice revealed that Zambia and Nigeria were the hardest-hit markets, together accounting for the majority of losses.
Specifically, Zambia’s subscriber base dropped by 298,000, while Nigeria’s fell by 243,000, with other African markets experiencing only a modest decline of 25,000 subscribers.
The group stated, “With the Rest of Africa business having seen a decline of 803k subscribers in 2H FY24, this rate of decline slowed to 566k in 1H FY25.
“Of this decline, 298k related to Zambia and 243k related to Nigeria, with remaining markets on the continent reflecting only a minor decline of 25k.”
Tribune Online reports that the Competition and Consumer Protection tribunal in June ordered the company to provide a one-month free subscription to its subscribers .
Also the Tribunal fined Multichoice Nigeria, the prominent Pay-TV operator and owner of DSTV and GOTV, ₦150 million for disputing the court’s jurisdiction.
This order was made by the tribunal to halt Multichoice from raising subscription fees without proper notice.
