Nigerians expressed strong opposition to a proposed increase in subscription fees by MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DSTV and GOtv, as a protest message urging subscribers to boycott the services circulated widely on social media.
MultiChoice had announced plans to review its subscription rates, citing prevailing economic conditions and inflation as reasons for the adjustment.
Under the proposed tariff structure, the DSTV Premium package was expected to rise to N13,980, with the new rates scheduled to take effect from April 1, 2015.
The planned increase, however, sparked dissatisfaction among subscribers, with some Nigerians taking to social media to criticise the new rates and call for a boycott of the pay-TV service.
A protest message circulating on platforms including WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), WeChat, Twitter and Facebook urged subscribers to stop using DSTV and GOtv from April 1 as a demonstration against what the authors described as an excessive increase.
The message also called on MultiChoice to introduce a pay-as-you-watch option in Nigeria, arguing that subscribers should not be required to pay for periods when they were away from home or unable to use their decoders.
“DSTV, enough is enough! Fellow Nigerians, let’s all boycott DSTV and GOtv services of MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd from April 1, 2015, over the planned tariff increase,” part of the message stated.
The campaigners further called for lower subscription fees, greater flexibility in payment and improvements in decoder quality and service delivery.
According to the message, a pay-as-you-watch system would give subscribers more control over their television spending. The campaigners particularly highlighted situations in which customers travelled for extended periods and could not make use of their subscriptions.
They also urged recipients to share the protest message widely across social networking and messaging platforms, apparently hoping that a coordinated boycott would put pressure on MultiChoice to reconsider the proposed rates.
The tariff controversy generated considerable discussion among DSTV subscribers as the April 1 implementation date drew closer.
For many of the protesters, the argument went beyond the proposed increase itself. They wanted television subscribers to have more affordable packages, improved service delivery and an option that would allow them to pay only for periods when they actually used the service.
With the proposed tariff increase attracting growing attention, it remained to be seen whether the online campaign would translate into a significant boycott or persuade MultiChoice to review its pricing decision.
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