Rising payTv subscription costs: Nigerians now go back to DVD

DStv is in trouble, as most of its subscribers are beginning to abandon its use for other favourable alternatives.

A survey carried out by Economy&Lifestyle showed that seven of every 10 households make use of either DStv or GOtv for entertainment and information purposes. 

However, the survey also noted that the reason subscribers are abandoning the platform now  is basically on poor state of their economy and increase of the content packages. 

For instance, DStv jerked up subscription cost for its Compact package from N7,000 to N9,000, while Compact Plus, which used to cost N12,400  now goes for N14,250.  

On the other hand, Gotv max, which was N3,600, now goes for N4,150, while Jolli package rose to N2,800 from N2,460.

DStv and GOtv have various competitors in Nigeria’s pay-tv space. They include TStv, Startimes, Mytv, Cable tv, among others. The latest Pay tv, TStv, has received patronage, due to its small subscription rate of N200 per day. 

Mr. Abiodun Sanni, a civil servant, lamented that he could hardly feed himself and his family from the meagre salary, which has failed to increase, despite the increases in the prices of goods and services.

For him DSTV subscription is a far reach,  since the price was increased this year. So, his resolve is to watch DVDs for entertainment.

He said: “It’s not funny to have an increase in the subscription rate of cable TV in these trying times when there is no corresponding increase in my salary. 

“For  instance, it is now hard for me to subscribe my GOtv Max package from N3600 to N4,150. 

“Last week, I asked my son to take our spoiled DVD player to a radionic for repairs. I have decided to abandon my cable decoder and watch movies from DVDs, and use my antenna to get a good view of local channels,” he added.

Also, Mr, Yusuf Adeyemo, a Point of Sale agent, also expressed his plans to abandon the use of DStv for entertainment and adopt other alternatives.

He said: “The current state of the economy affects my ability to meet up with my package Compact Plus which cost N12, 400 before  it went up for N14, 250.  Inflation and cost of living keep increasing while income is not increasing at all.

“I have even decided to return to watching movies on DVDs which I have abandoned for years. I am not always in the house because I had to do two jobs to keep my family up. It is my children and wife that watch DStv  on weekends.  

“Even the state of electricity is bad. No one knows when the light will come. So what use is it subscribing to what you cannot use?”

On her part, Mrs Madueke Felicia, a business woman, said: “I use Gotv and subscribe to Gotv max which was N3,600 before and now is N4,150. Prior to now I subscribe every six months and enjoy the pleasure I derive because I have the purchasing power to buy fuel to power my generator when there is no power supply.  

“I can hardly subscribe for a month now because of the high cost of living and changes in the rate of subscription. I have purchased a different PayTv decoder which enables me to subscribe for less than   N200 per day. I can subscribe anytime it is our turn to have power supply because the supply of power in my area is on load-shedding. I can’t afford to use the money for feeding to buy fuel for my generator.”

Although DStv and Gotv owned by   MultiChoice, a pay tv company   are   the most subscribed pay tv in Nigeria, there are indications the company may need more than price increase to retain its huge customer base. 

As of March 2021, there were 20.1 million subscribers on its pay-TV ecosystem. The South African market’s share of that figure is 8.7 million, with the rest of Africa, including Nigeria, having the remaining 11.4 million subscribers.

Meanwhile, there are forecasts  that Nigeria alone is expected to contribute 10 million pay-TV subscribers by 2025.

However, to attain that figure with incessant increments is yet to be seen.

Since April 1st this year,   subscribers were made to pay more for all its bouquets.

Its premium package on DSTV now costs N21,000, and no longer N18,400 old rate. 

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