MultiChoice seems to have been caught up in a difficult situation, the DSTV’s parent company is considering not to renew its premiership and UEFA Champions League broadcast rights when they expire.
ThisDay reported on Thursday that a source from the satellite TV company revealed how financial losses are forcing it to make the difficult decision not to renew for the 2021/22 football season.
The development was attributed to Nigerian business environment that has yielded low patronage, which does not make up for the cost of broadcast rights which the company said is exorbitant. Moreover, the free fall of naira against the dollar is said to have compounded the situation.
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ThisDay quoted the source as saying: “It is becoming impossible to maintain many of these sports rights, especially the EPL, for Nigeria. The recent fall of the naira against the dollar has equally not helped matters.
“Rights for the African continent used to be bought singly, but this changed in 2007 when a competitor, backed by the federal government, forced the EPL to excise Nigeria from the rest of Africa. Now, the cost of the rights for Nigeria has risen to almost the same with the rest of the continent put together, while the number of subscribers in Nigeria is only about one quarter of the rest of the continent.”
Based on this statement, the DSTV has been operating on loss when it comes to football broadcast in Nigeria. The cost of rights for the EPL and UEFA Champions League is about $250 million and €100 million respectively. Paying the huge sum while making less every season has become a burden that MultiChoice needs to shed itself of to stay in business.
Among the factors that have contributed to the loss are the low cost of subscription by Nigerians for EPL and UEFA Champions League matches, and the number of subscribers onboard the football packages. The source said the cost of subscription in Nigeria is below par with other African countries, forcing MultiChoice to consider not renewing the rights for the sake of its survival.
“The cost of subscription in Nigeria continues to lag behind what is paid in the rest of Africa, especially in the face of the falling value of the naira. The company is approaching a situation in which it may be forced to choose between continuing to broadcast the EPL and its business survival,” the source told ThisDay.
While the development has been blamed on the cost of broadcast rights, Nigerian government’s meddlesomeness with the broadcast industry cannot be ignored.
On June 1, DSTV introduced new charges that will reflect the current realities of the situation, but the House of Representatives rejected the move and ordered them to reverse the charges citing COVID-19.
The chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on broadcasting, Unyime Idem said the increased charges are unacceptable in the face of COVID-19 pandemic and ordered DSTV to halt every plan they have for increment until further notice.
The Committee also asked the DSTV to implement pay-per-view that Nigerians have been praying for a long time. “We have already made the decision on pay as you go,” Idem told NBC acting chairman Armstrong Idachaba. “We are not here to negotiate; we are only here to inform you of our decision so that you can go and implement it.”
The Committee has been investigating the excesses of the satellite broadcasting company and expressed regret that Nigerians are bitterly complaining about their charges.
“I am sure you must have been hearing of the yearnings of Nigerians for years now, who are the subscribers to these services that they are not happy with the current services they are getting from the providers.
“They have been crying on a daily basis that they are not satisfied with the services they are getting from the providers in terms of high charges, price hike and, most importantly, considering what is obtainable in other countries of the world, that is pay-per-view offer that other countries are giving to their subscribers,” Idem said.
Apart from the issues of charges, the House Committee and the Ministry of Information and Culture have been bent on killing the right of exclusivity in the broadcasting industry. They said it has encouraged monopoly which has favored the DSTV and resulted in the untimely death of many satellite TVs of Nigerian origin that couldn’t compete.
Responding to the Committee’s queries, Idachaba acknowledged what DSTV had said, that Nigerians pay lower than others in other African countries.
Experts have urged the Nigerian government to cease interfering in broadcasting industry business, and allow market forces to determine the growth of the industry.
In less than ten years, three satellite TVS have come and gone in Nigeria: HiTV, TSTV and recently Kwese’. It appears that the DSTV is trying to avoid sharing the same fate.
ARRANT NONSENSE, THEY SHOULD PLEASE, PLEASE GO, WE ARE TIRED OF THEIR SATANIC MONOPOLY OF OUR VIEW RIGHT, I WILL BE THE HAPPIEST MAN THE DAY MULTICHOICE MONOPOLY WILL BE BROKEN, AMEN AND AMEN TO THAT.
I couldn’t agree more with you…. Dstv should please go.
Hahahaha
Yes, if DStv cannot implement pay per view let them go. DStv has extorted Nigerians enough. We want competitive markets not monopoly. Nigerians are saying enough is enough. Period!
I agree as well…. But what now happens to football viewing?
I support their leaving Nigeria; they are too monopolistic. Their charges are too high. They should be advised that once they removed sports, that will be their death.
Rubbishhhhhhhh,…… they should go please.
Always looking for ways to exploit the Nigerian citizens.
It seems that every party is blinded by the greedy dstv and the forces they claim should control the broadcasting industry. If those powers are taken away from dstv multichoice, then our freedom has come
A welcome development. Other other broadcasting companies should be brought into Nigeria like SKY, B.T and aljazeera
Why can they just reduce the price, this will ultimately encourage more people to subscribe(increasing their customer base).
This will in turn increase their revenue.
It is no rocket science. But greed won’t allow for that to happen
They have exploited enough. They are freed to exit Nigeria. The issue of PAY PER VIEW is non negotiable. Their Nigerian collaborators including the NBC Chairman must be resisted with everything possible
I don’t understand the pay per view. Well its either they reduce the charges or add more stations to each package
They should go please ..enough is enough
MULTI CHOICE SHOULD GO. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THEM CHEATING US WITH THEIR EXORBITANT SUBSCRIPTION FEES.
Enough is enough multi choice party and go hell
? LET THEM GO OR WE’LL BURY DSTV…
Still charging exorbitant fees on subscription on those nonsense stations,claiming to better their service not knowing is a way of making money from Nigerian in a fraudulent way, plz go doors are opens,who care.our Nigeria stations are there to serve us
Our elites have sold us cheap, it will be difficult to buy us back on a high. They’ve been killing competition since, with the help of some people I think. Competition always brings out the best in situations and in men. Throw the rights open. If they want to go then, they can be our guest.
Before I open my eyes, DSTV should disappear from Nigeria. They’re crooks, after that; allow states to generate power to serve their people and not selling it to the national grid. Unbundle the power sector also, the exploitation is unbearable.
Thank you lord.
Dstv please leave Nigerians alone and go. You can’t continue to steal from us , una done try make others try too.
Soon in kenya.
East Africa is also ready to kick Dstv,expensive for nothing.
They are using our money to cover up their epl and eufa TV right expenses for the continent. They should implement pay – per view condition.
I see no reason why Multichoice cannot voluntarily introduce PAY PER VIEW. Now that the popular request is PPV, please do it or Pack and Goif if the deal is not okay for you. The rip off is enough.
They want to stylishly increase the subscription again. Awon weyre…
Abeg make una waka Pass biko…. Who una epp? Despite the increase on the monthly sub, they still removed channel’s instead of adding more… What’s the use of your services if all you do is repeat movies over and over again? Even the channel’s can’t be subtitled… What a waste of money… PLEASE CARRY YOUR WAHALA AND GO ABEG,…… WE SERIOUSLY DON’T NEED YOU MULTICHOICE… STOP MAKING A FOOL OUT OF WE NIGERIAN’S BIKO.. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH…
Why are they still wasting time to leave. This dstv hopeless company are broad day light criminals. We have had enough of their nonsense and their so called EPL they are using to think we can get attracted and beg them not to go. I only but blame our insincere government at all levels for not developing our own locally made football so that the so called westerns can at least subscribe to our own home channel and watch our home grown stars play. If you come to my house and I said leave, what is then left of you, is it not to go?
Abeg, let them just implement this PPV thing that we have been clamoring for and leave the REST, or they should pack and go, period. All these white collar scammers should know that Nigerians know thier right and they should not think we are fools… NONSENSE.
Nigerians has had enough of DSTV, they are free to go. Pay Per View is what we want.
“Rights for the African continent used to be bought singly, but this changed in 2007 when a competitor, backed by the federal government, forced the EPL to excise Nigeria from the rest of Africa. Now, the cost of the rights for Nigeria has risen to almost the same with the rest of the continent put together, while the number of subscribers in Nigeria is only about one quarter of the rest of the continent.”
1.Who EXCISED Nigeria? Why and For whose interest? Shouldn’t we be asking these questions? Why pay for the rest of Africa and pay for Nigeria separately?
2. Also Multichoice can’t possibly be complaining of not making money, despite the shitty content they have. When we have more reliable and cheap internet in this country anything terrestrial transmission would be a thing of the past. Why watch old content when you can stream live new contents… Netflix and the likes.? For a country to have 1/4 of the rest of Africa – its a huge market, they can’t be closing shop even in the next 5 years.
Yes let them go but have you considered that that won’t solve your economic problems. You can’t stand up to the inequality among the elite and the poor, you pay taxes and your government officials lavish our common wealth. But when it comes to individual companies who provides millions of jobs for our citizens we are quick to lash out. I’ve you consider your monthly subscription on Netflix and the data you use in streaming compared to the paytv average subscription rate. No paytv will kill you if you don’t subscribe but don’t run their efforts down on providing jobs for Nigerians, deal with your government officials to provide better opportunity for you to be able to afford good things of life