Multichoice loses $72m on naira devaluation after raising DStv, GOtv subscription prices

Africa's top Pay TV provider, Multichoice, has reported a semi-annual loss, blaming its financial woes on Forex challenges in Nigeria and power cuts in South Africa.

The company revealed in a filing on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, that it lost about $72 million for the six months ending September 30.

Multichoice blames the naira crash

The company attributed the loss to the naira's weak performance against the US dollar due to a 40% devaluation of the Nigerian currency after the country floated the naira.

Multichoice said inflationary pressures influenced its operations in key markets like Nigeria and trends following the World Cup.

The company said: "A total of 0.1m subscribers were added to end the period at 13.0m 90-day active subscribers. The active subscriber base was broadly stable at 8.9 million subscribers, and subscription revenues grew 14 per cent organically.

Punch reports that Multichoice revealed that weaker currencies remained a vital barrier to improvements in profit-taking, with average first-half exchanges dropping against the dollar.

The firm said: "The sharp fall of the naira resulted in a large proportion of the previously recognized losses incurred on cash remittances now being recorded in trading profit.

"The net effect of these forex movements was a negative ZAR1.6bn impact on the segment's trading profit for the period," it stated.

Multichoice announces price adjustments. In early November, the company announced price adjustments on different bouquets in DStv and Gotv, a Legit.ng report said.

MultiChoice Nigeria announced another 19% increase across its DStv and GoTv monthly subscription packages, effective Sunday, November 5, 2023.

The price increase was stated in a notification message sent to customers on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

DStv new prices

DSTV public relations manager Laolu Thomas confirmed the new development to Legit.ng.

New DSTV prices According to messages sent to customers, the DStv Premium monthly subscription will now be N29,500 from the current fee of N24,500.

Similarly, the cost of the Compact+ bouquet will now be N19,800 per month, marking a 19% increase from the previous N16,600 fee.

DStv has also announced that subscribers on the Compact bouquet will experience a 19% price hike, with their monthly fee rising to N12,500 from the current N10,500.

New GOtv prices

Customers on the Supa Plus package will experience a 19% increase, with their monthly fee rising to N12,500 from the current N10,500.

The Supa bouquet's new monthly fee will be N7,600, up from the current N6,400, reflecting an increase.

For the GOtv Max subscription, the cost has increased to N5,700 from the previous N4,850, while the Jolli package now stands at N3,950, up from the previous N3,300.

Customers on the lowest GOtv package, Jinja, will now be required to pay N2,700 monthly, compared to the current fee of N2,250.