This is indeed a difficult time for the management of MultiChoice Nigeria, owner of DStv and GOtv, as the Pay TV may be forced to answer the same questions for the umpteenth time.

In few days, the House of Representatives, which has begun an investigation of cable and satellite television service providers in Nigeria over their high tariffs and monopolised bouquets, will invite the company to answer questions over the much talked-about ‘pay as you earn.’

Though, it is an industry probe, the House is specifically probing Digital Satellite Television, a South Africa-based provider owned by MultiChoice, for allegedly cheating its Nigerian subscribers by restricting them to prepaid plans.

Chairman of the committee, Unyime Idem, at an investigative hearing held in Abuja on Thursday, said that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had been summoned to explain why DSTV and other service providers refused to introduce pay-per-view.

READ MORE: DStv plans to go “dishless” as it introduces streaming product come 2020 

Idem said, “Today, we want to hear from you and your team, how the industry can be properly managed so that beneficiaries who are Nigerians can smile at the end of the day. 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.

“Why is it not implemented in Nigeria? We want to know your position as the regulator of this service providers. What are the bottlenecks? What are the constraints? What are the implications? Why are we not enjoying ‘pay as you go’ as subscribers to these service providers?”

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MultiChoice says …

Meanwhile, MultiChoice has explained that there are some misconceptions about what Pay per View means.

The company’s spokesperson, Caroline Oghuma, told Nairametrics in an email interview a few months ago that it was not a service that enabled one to match consumption to subscription as was the case with a meter or mobile phone.

She said, “It is a type of pay television service by which a subscriber of a television service provider can purchase events to view via private broadcast. It usually applies to a one-off broadcast of high stakes games such as football, boxing and even wrestling matches.

“Pay per View service can be purchased via a cable or satellite TV provider as a non-refundable separate package in addition to a pre-existing subscription. An example of pay per view in action was the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, aptly dubbed ‘The Money Fight’. In this case, subscribers had to each pay up to $100 for the bout in the US, and watch or not, the subscription ended with the 10 round fight.

“We broadcast the same boxing match to our Premium subscribers at no extra cost, and those who have Exploras were able to record the match and re-watch at another time. It is important to state that it is an expensive service to subscribe to. To date, no pay TV operation globally has a model based solely on pay as you view, as it is not a viable business model.”

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She added that the company urged its customers to download DStv Now where they could watch all the content on their current subscription on the go, via phone or tablet. DStv Box-Office, a service available on the Explora decoder, enabled them to rent a movie at N400, for 2 days.

Previous probe

Meanwhile, members of the House had, on March 17, 2020, taken turns to criticise DSTV for refusing to introduce pay-per-view.

Consequently, the House had resolved to set up the committee to probe into the matter, with the mandate to invite Federal Government agencies regulating the industry, including the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Again, on June 2, 2020, the House inaugurated an ad hoc committee to investigative the increment of subscription rates by Multichoice and other cable television service providers.

The committee, which the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, constituted and inaugurated, assured Nigerians of justice and fairness, saying that it would work towards making the providers adopt ‘pay per view’ system.

More Nigerians embraced the services of Satellite TV operators like Multichoice Nigeria, StarTimes and others in 2019, as their viewership grew by 23%.

This was disclosed by recent data released by a global content connectivity solutions, SES on Thursday, after reaching out to 35 million TV households across Africa in its annual Satellite Monitor survey.

The report also found that the Ghanaian viewership increased by 19% within the same period.

The study on TV reception also shows an increase in SES reach from 33 million African households in 2018 to 35 million households in 2019.

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In Nigeria, it found that satellite TV reception was the choice for 11.8 million households in 2019, a 23% increase compared to 2017, and a further 4.7 million in Ghana, up by 19% from 2017.

The study also highlighted that High Definition (HD) TV sets are becoming increasingly popular, already present in approximately 50% of Ghanaian and Nigerian TV homes.

Other TV reception modes in Nigeria and Ghana currently include terrestrial, cable and IPTV.

According to the latest survey results, satellite TV is steadily gaining popularity as the TV reception mode of choice in both markets, with 70% of TV homes in Ghana and 33% of those in Nigeria opting for satellite in 2019 – an increase from 64% and 27%, respectively, compared to 2017.

Vice President of Sales and Market Development for SES Video in Africa, Clint Brown, said,

“In addition to the growth of homes reached in Nigeria and Ghana, the study shows that SES’s satellites reach 11.6 million homes (satellite and terrestrial) in anglophone West Africa; 6.2 million satellite homes in francophone West Africa; 17.7 million homes (satellite and terrestrial) in sub-Saharan Africa; and 0.9 million satellite homes in East Africa.

READ MORE: REVEALED: Why TSTV is committed to implementing ‘Pay As You Watch’

“The results of our annual Satellite Monitor market research demonstrate that satellite continues to be the optimal infrastructure to deliver hundreds of TV channels and in high picture quality too, while offering an affordable solution in the transition from analogue to digital TV.”

With the deadline for the analogue switch-off looming in both countries – 2020 in Ghana and 2021 in Nigeria, he added that the 2019 Satellite Monitor findings confirm that end consumers in regions going through digital migration are satisfied with satellite TV and choosing it for its better value proposition and variety of free-to-air offerings, rather than purchasing new hardware and switching to digital terrestrial TV.

About SES annual market research

It offers a comprehensive and in-depth analysis into the TV market in each country it surveys and is designed to assess the development of TV reception modes and SES’s total reach in the market, as well as to serve as a benchmark for the TV and satellite industry.

In 2019, Ghana and Nigeria were the main surveyed African countries as they stand as the most dynamic and highly penetrated TV markets in sub-Saharan Africa and have been surveyed by SES since 2015.

Sony Music Entertainment Africa (SMEA) and  Celebrity Services Africa (CSA) have announced a partnership where they will jointly develop new talents and facilitate existing artiste-brand opportunities on the continent.  

This joint venture, the first of its kind, was announced in an official statement released on Monday.  

The partnership will see both companies utilising their strengths to develop an all-round solution for artiste support & brand integration, and afford artistes greater opportunities in the creative industry.  

CSA has a great track record of working with some of the world’s biggest brands and entertainers, while Sony Music Entertainment Africa is focused on developing new voices into household names, and also working with established artistes. 

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With the CSA managing top talents like NBA basketball player, Emmanuel Mudiay, Hollywood Oscar-nominated actor, Djimon Hounsou, and media personality Bonang Matheba, and the SMEA having talents like Kwesta, Mlindo, AKA, Shekhinah, Distruction Boyz, DJ Maphorisa, and Ndlovu Youth Choir on its roster, this new partnership is set to revolutionise Africa’s creative industry. 

“We’re excited about the partnership. There has never been a service dedicated to commercialising opportunities for artists in the African music industry outside of traditional channels and this venture does just that,” SMEA MD, Sean Watson, said. 

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CSA Executive Director Davin Phillips also expressed excitement over the venture, stating that the duo is set to rework the entertainment market-place for Africa and unlock the ambitions of the creative industry.  

“The joint venture has been years in the making and historically we have had a great relationship with Sony, who represent some of the continent’s biggest artists,” he said.   

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CSA’s brand consulting division has successfully launched the likes of Cîroc Vodka across Africa and works with such brands as Budweiser and Vodacom, and has offices Cape Town, Johannesburg, Los Angeles and Lagos. It is acclaimed to be one of the continent’s leading entertainment-brand agencies.