By Felix Ifijeh
The House of Representatives has directed Multichoice Nigeria, owners of DStv and GOtv, to immediately suspend the implementation of the recently announced subscription price hike.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance raised at plenary on Tuesday, by the lawmaker representing Oredo Federal Constituency, Esosa Iyawe, the House ordered an investigation into the frequent price increases by Multichoice.
MultiChoice Nigeria recently announced new tariffs for DSTV and GOtv from March 1.
According to the company, DStv and GOtv subscribers who renew their subscriptions before the expiration date will be exempt from the new rates for a specified time as a reward for their loyalty.
In addition, subscribers on both platforms can take advantage of extra benefits through the Step Up offer, which began in January and will continue until March 31.
The latest price review puts the cost of the DStv Compact bouquet at N19,000 and Compact Plus at N30,000. DStv and the Premium subscription will rise to N44,500.
Similarly, GOtv Supa customers will henceforth pay N16,800, while those on Supa will pay N11,400. The tariff on GOtv Max moves to N8,500, while that of GOtv Jinja moves to N3,90.
Raising a motion of urgent public importance before the Green Chamber on Tuesday, Rep Iyawe expressed concerns that the dominant position of Multichoice in pay-TV and price increases always have a widespread impact and put consumers under undue pressure.
A similar increase in May 2024, The Lawmaker said the recent hike in subscription prices has triggered widespread criticism from subscribers, many of whom have taken to social media to express their frustration over frequent price hikes without a corresponding improvement in service quality.
Adopting the motion, the House directed Multichoice Nigeria to suspend the proposed increase in subscription prices pending exhaustive investigations.
Also, a similar order of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), directing Multichoice Nigeria to halt implementation of the new tariffs pending the conclusion of ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, the House has mandated its Committee on Commerce to investigate the arbitrary increase with a view to ensuring the implementation of cost-effective policies in the pay-TV sector for consumers in Nigeria.
The committee is expected to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
