Home Latest Insights | News Nigeria Explains The Unification of MultiChoice (DStv, GOtv), NTA, IrokoTV, etc [Video]

Nigeria Explains The Unification of MultiChoice (DStv, GOtv), NTA, IrokoTV, etc [Video]

Nigeria Explains The Unification of MultiChoice (DStv, GOtv), NTA, IrokoTV, etc [Video]

I wrote on how the new Nigeria Broadcasting Code could destroy innovation in the PayTv sector. For the other side of that story, I have been waiting for when we would hear from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the custodian of the code. Mr. Armstrong Idachaba, the Director-General of NBC, has now responded via an interview at The Osasu Show. Of course, he defended the amendments to the broadcasting code which bans exclusive content on Pay TV among other components.

PayTV players like DSTV and GOtv are now banned from having exclusive sporting content in Nigeria. Upon paying pounds, euro and dollars, the companies are required to share content with local players like NTA. More so, if they pay for La Liga Spanish football league, they are required to spend at least 30% of the amount on the Nigerian league.

Yes, if everyone has access to the same contents, we can remove all the logos as all players have been unified. Why invest $1,000 to create content your competitor can get for $300 when you are done? The world lived as an inventive society for centuries, with no innovation, until property rights began to emerge in some areas. The difference between Elon Musk and Tesla is property rights.

Most men who pioneered the fundamental elements of chemistry and physics died poor as no one gave them money to commercialize their ideas. And the reason that happened was that the merchants who had the money did not see how they could recoup their investments if anyone could have access to steal the innovations after they had funded them.

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Then, towards the end of the 18th century, property rights began to emerge, giving makers and their backers legal protections to maximally profit from their ideas. That singular move changed the world, turning it from an inventive society into an innovation one. If you look at the gross world product (the combined GDPs of nations) over the last 2,000 years, the curve moved from being flat to an exponential one, around 1800. What happened was evident: men and women became greedy for the love of money and went out and fixed market frictions via products and services, knowing that doing so would make them rich.

Who will waste time creating/acquiring content in Nigeria when everyone can get it for nothing? I get you…

2,000 Years of GDP (Source: Bloomberg, World Bank. Brookings)

Nigeria Strikes The Perceived Choiceless MultiChoice (DStv, GOTv)


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23 THOUGHTS ON Nigeria Explains The Unification of MultiChoice (DStv, GOtv), NTA, IrokoTV, etc [Video]

  1. The USA all people marvel at and admire, we still don’t care to know how it became the greatest nation on earth. We like to copy, but have we thought through how its greatness and exponential advancement happened? They did things that gave them velocity, which enabled entrepreneurs to accelerate at unimaginable rate, because the intention was clear: abundance and unbounded opportunities.

    The Harvard, MIT and Stanford we can easily recite as daily devotions, have we wondered how these institutions are run? We keep creating bumps, purchasing more handbrakes; but somehow still dream that our people would fly.

    What do we really want to achieve as a country? What is Nigerian Project? And where have the sort of crass policies we make and vehemently defend created massive opportunities for the people? We just do things with no clear positive end goal, yet we keep repeating failures.

    If you remove exclusivity of contents in the broad media and entertainment space, what exactly is left? Any society that cannot protect creativity and innovation is doomed.

    These supremely incompetent creatures holding sway in key positions in the land are not fit for purpose, and they have never missed any opportunity to reconfirm their ineptitude.

      • My brother thank you for informing that poster. He’s speaking ignorantly without any atom of knowledge in all those long post. Both he and the writer of this post sound to me like DSTV staffs. NBC did the right thing. With proper implementation of that code watch how pay TV will experience a boom in the next 3-5 years. You don’t grow a sector by monopoly and call the shots as to the price and single handedly regulate the sector cos you call the shots and expect it to get better. FYI Antitrust law is also called competition law favours the small companies so they can survive and thrive without been swallowed up by the big companies just for purposes of monopoly and killing competition.

        • Oga, I really want to understand how you have come to the projection that pay TV will boom in 3 to 5 years if the “must share 30%” policy is properly implemented. I don’t think so.
          Exactly how has Multichoice killed competition? By doing everything they can to improve quality and content consistently over two decades?
          Did HiTV with all the blind support of the government not wrestle English Premiership from Multichoice for some years? Could they sustain the PayTv business with just sport? They failed and Multichoice came out stronger with a variety of content and continue to wax stronger till date.
          My brother, It is an exercise in futility if a man loses its head and blames it blindly on other!

  2. I believe its lack of information that is making you take side. If only you know the number of indigenous Pay TV companies that were closed or had their service disrupted cos of DSTV monopoly on airing specific programs. NBC did the right thing for the industry, now more players can find their way in the industry and consumers will not be constrained to a particular supplier

    • You just said it all….. This one-sided people mostly DSTv staffs don’t just want the industry to be opened up for other intending players.
      #Greed

    • Excellent response. I normally don’t respond to threads but I agree with this 100%. Local players need to be given the opportunity to breathe. Why will DSTV or Multichoice have issues with that. Healthy competition is good. DSTV has extremely poor customer service, they flip their bouquets and upwardly adjust rates at will and Nigerians have no choice but to accept whatever they dish out. The market should be free and driven by demand and supply. Thumbs up to this response!

    • You are really talking a point. Many are yet to know that monopoly is an indirect way of putting the economy in to slavery. We allowed foreigners to enslave our economy because of personal interest. Monopoly right always have a limited time frame, that is if granted, Most of the amendment will transform this Country.

    • You’re absolutely right my dear. I patronized CANTv until last year or so, when I learned suddenly that DSTv took to court for airing their channels. And was taken aback and wondered why DSTv with her numerrous customers could do such a thing in a multichoice society like ours. I was pained to the marrow.

      Now, to watch football on DStv I would have cough out a sum of 7000-10,000/month. Whereas with CANtv, I would watch the same channel with just 3,150 while DSTv continued with yet a teaming customer.

    • Did DSTV become a giant or so called monopoly (as you term them) overnight?? This people worked hard and invested tremendously into their quality of services and content over the years! Now that they are successful, you suddenly see them as a threat and blame the failure of your country and its entrepreneurial ineptitude to compete with them. Shame on you all who blame your low grades on the sheer smartness and diligence of others! You better go and fix our country to be able to attain global competitiveness. If you like remove sports, Multichoice will still do far better than all your quack pay TV companies who lack what it takes in the depth of technical and managerial knowhow to succeed in the PayTv business.

  3. Rather than getting reduction in the viewings by DSTV they want them to share their money with a country that’s giving nothing in return rather they pay hugely the rights to setup in Nigeria.
    Foolishness on ramoage

  4. You are really talking a point. Many are yet to know that monopoly is an indirect way of putting the economy in to slavery. We allowed foreigners to enslave our economy because of personal interest. Monopoly right always have a limited time frame, that is if granted, Most of the amendment will transform this Country.

  5. You are really talking a point. Many are yet to know that monopoly is an indirect way of putting the economy in to slavery. We allowed foreigners to enslave our economy because of personal interest. Monopoly right always have a limited time frame, that is if granted, Most of the amendment will transform this Country.

  6. One thing is certain that Nigeria is not an expert in antitrust laws enforcement. The political structure is looting minder and does everything to influence their pockets. What they have done to paytv has more meaning than helping competitors…

  7. Even with or without NBC interventions, disruptive innovation and digital “neo”media inventions will eventually chase MULTICHOICE out of out market. Streaming activities are bringing some of these feeds into the “share me” mainstream, and there is a limit to what regulations and policing can do to checkmate these them.

    Monopoly does not promote multi choice to consumers, upstart creativity invention & innovation, it stifles them. No company or interest should be made to enjoy exclusive rights to all sporting contents, local and foreign.

    Anti-thrust and consumer protection laws are necessary. Why is the USA constantly policing the big tech firms….AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE ….Just to protect the consumers’ rights and protect upcoming companies and deepen innovation.

    NBC should be supported to end the monopoly of DSTV once and for all.

  8. Even with or without NBC interventions, disruptive innovation and digital “neo”media inventions will eventually chase MULTICHOICE out of out market. Streaming activities are bringing some of these feeds into the “share me” mainstream, and there is a limit to what regulations and policing can do to checkmate these them.

    Monopoly does not promote multi choice to consumers, upstart creativity invention & innovation, it stifles them. No company or interest should be made to enjoy exclusive rights to all sporting contents, local and foreign.

    Anti-thrust and consumer protection laws are necessary. Why is the USA constantly policing the big tech firms….AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE ….Just to protect the consumers’ rights and protect upcoming companies and deepen innovation.

    NBC should be supported to end the monopoly of DSTV once and for all.

  9. I think your opinion can best be described as capitalist economy where you allow only your own company to enjoy the full benefits of a larger weaker population that is economically viable to succeed when given freedom.So if you par adventure they MultiChoice fortunate to lobby the EPL laliga serie A for exclusive rights just for the same sake of waking up from time to time to increase the rates of subscription in this country because they have no competition from anywhere else in the country and you feel it’s a great market strategy then I feel we need to redefine corruption

  10. If this can work it will be a very good development in Nigeria this is what we have been waiting for prepaid is the best option For all Nigeria’s If dstv can not do prepaid billing den let them live our country Nigeria.

  11. Has anyone asked: Can you watch the English Premiership matches on free TV in the UK? If you don’t know, let me tell you now….NO! You have to pay for it right there in the UK where the stadium might be just behind your house So I can’t understand the fascination of NBC and many others here, about watching EPL free. Someone has to pay for it cos sports is heavily commercialized and the number one revenue source is TV rights. That’s how EPL was able to pay £40m plus to every Premiership club at the end of the 2018/19 premiership season. If NTA/NBC and other pay TV companies want to show these premium sports, let them go and pay for it instead of forcing a private business to share with others.
    Make no mistake, these premium sports so coveted in Nigeria are of fabulous quality because they are highly commercialized. We just don’t get it in Nigeria….!!!
    Kuku ban Multichoice and they will leave just like Shopprite is leaving and life will go on! Shikena! Who will be the biggest losers; Nigerian workers ofcourse.

  12. Thank you so much I don’t much nigerian do think before writing rubbish nonsense, do you know how much they pay before securing the right to broadcast this things on your television, thanks for bring the likes of hitv as an example here till today where are they at?

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