The MultiChoice Group, which is the parent company of the DSTV, on Monday said the high cost of production in Nigeria was responsible for the increase in its subscription tariffs.
Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, Mr John Ugbe said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee, which is investigating the Non-Implementation of ‘Pay As You Go’ Tariff by Satellite Broadcast Service Providers.
According to him, the recent hike in Valued Added Tax, VAT, as well as poor power supply in the country, were some of the reasons for the increase.
The House had set up the panel on March 17 to investigate DSTV and other cable television service providers in Nigeria.
At the investigative hearing on Monday, Chairman of the committee, Mr Unyime Idem, in his opening remarks, noted that the probe was based on protests by Nigerians against DSTV’s tariff hikes.
But, responding, Ugbe said Nigeria was tough environment for a lot of reasons.
“When we did the price adjustment, it was in response to the new Finance Bill (now an Act) and if you look at it, you will see that we were even late in making those changes.
“The adjustment at that time was just as a result of the new Finance Bill. The committee is also aware of the increase in the cost of living, petrol, diesel; these are very basic inputs that go into our service.
“We are part of the broadcasting industry that did not shut down for one day; we had to keep everything running.”
Speaking on the ‘Pay Per View’ option, the MultiChoice boss said, “Telecommunication companies can offer ‘Pay As You Go’; you can stop and start. Unfortunately, that is not the model in broadcast industry.
“You must also accept that we have to buy these services, repackage them and resell, and you cannot be selling differently from where you buy.”
Members of the committee, however, disagreed with Ugbe, faulting the timing of the increment and accusing the company of pushing the pressure it was facing back to its subscribers.
