… 5th Tariff Hike In 3 Years
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has filed a charge against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and its chief executive officer, John Ugbe, for allegedly violating regulatory directives and obstructing an ongoing inquiry.
The three counts filed before the Federal High Court Lagos, bordered on willful implementation of a price hike contrary to the Commission’s directives, an offence which violates Section 33(4) of the FCCPC Act.
The other counts are on the company’s disregard for instructions to suspend the hike in violation of Section 110, and attempt to mislead the Commission by proceeding with the increase without objection contrary to Section 159(2), and punishable under Section 159(4)(a) and (b) of the FCCPA 2018 Act.
On February 24, 2025, premier South African-owned pay TV operator in Nigeria, MultiChoice Nigeria, announced a price increase for its DStv and GOtv subscription packages, set to take effect on March 1, 2025.
This announcement came nearly one year after a previous price hike and sparked a public backlash, prompting the FCCPC to intervene.
On February 27, 2025, the FCCPC expressly directed MultiChoice Nigeria to maintain its current pricing structure pending the conclusion of an investigative hearing of its proposed price hike.
However, the FCCPC alleged that MultiChoice Nigeria proceeded with the price increase despite these warnings in violation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
The Commission said that by disregarding its directive and implementing the price hike before appearing before the Commission’s investigative hearing on March 6, 2025, MultiChoice has by its actions flouted regulatory processes and also demonstrated a pattern of conduct that undermines consumer rights and fair competition
In addition to the legal actions, the FCCPC disclosed that it is reviewing further enforcement measures, including potential sanctions and penalties, and regulatory interventions, to ensure compliance and accountability.
The Commission reassured Nigerians that it is committed to protecting them against exploitative business practices and ensuring that dominant players in any sector adhere to fair market principles and legal compliance.
It will be recalled that MultiChoice increased subscriptions fees for its DStv and GOtv packages by at least 25%, in May 1, 2024, making it the fourth of such hikes in less than three years as at last year.
Also recall that the company implemented an upward review of prices in December 2023, days after announcing a $72m loss in its financial statement for the third quarter of the year. This came after the April 2023 increase in tariff by about 17% announced by the company across its DStv and GOtv packages, which took effect from May 1, 2023
The two increments in tariff within one year, according to MultiChoice, were due to the rising costs of business operations then.
Recall also that in March 2022, the Pay TV firm also increased the prices of its DStv and GOtv packages due to “the rising costs of inflation and business operations.”
