By Oluwatosin Maliki
In a recent report, the Broadcasting company Multichoice, announced a $72m loss in its financial statement for the third quarter of the year, consequently leading to the hike in the price of its subscription packages.
Quest Times gathered that the company’s reviewed price list showed a 20 per cent hike in its packages across the board.
The latest price hike, the DStv Premium package increased by 20.4 per cent from N24,500 to N29,500.
Similarly, the DStv Compact+ has gone up by 19.2 per cent from N16,600 to N19,800, while the Compact package increased by 19 per cent, from N10,500 to N12,500.
Meanwhile, the Comfam package has also moved up by 19.2 per cent from N6,200 to N7,400.
The recent increments mark the second time the company would implement an upward review of prices within a six-month period.
In May, Multichoice had increased the prices of its offerings. During this round of price hikes, the DStv Premium package increased by 16.7 per cent (N3,500) from N21,000 to N24,500.
Also, the DStv Compact+ package had gone up by 16.5 per cent (N2,350) from N14,250 to N16,600. The DStv Compact package as well, rose by 16.7 per cent from N9,000 to N10,500, while the DStv Confam package previously priced at N5,300, went up by 17 per cent to N6,200.
It was reportedly said that an anonymous spokesperson in the company had blamed the harsh business environment for the hike.
Moreover, the source explained that the company had to stuggle with the devastating consequences of the continued devaluation of the naira, alongside a vast array of challenges including taxation, logistics, among others.
The source stated, “Yes. We have increased our rates. We buy content in dollars but earn in naira. If we take off a channel or stop acquiring content that our customers are used to, we will be slammed”.
“We buy diesel. We pay taxes. Even before this year, with the dollar and fuel subsidy removal. We pay billions in licensing fees. We operate several offices. We have to pay staff.”
The latest price comes after Multichoice reported a third consecutive semi-annual loss, while attributing it to the foreign exchange difficulties in Nigeria and persistent power outages in South Africa.