The Nigerian Senate has asked pay television service providers to consider the “pay per view” subscription model for subscribers.
The Senate also set up a seven-member ad-hoc commission to investigate the rate hike introduced by pay TV providers operating in the country.
It ordered all pay television service providers to immediately revise their industry prices downwards in conjunction with the prevailing reality of the economic situation in Nigeria.
These resolutions were a sequel to a deliberation on a motion titled “Dumbfounded Nigerians Outraged By Pay TV Fee Hikes Demand Pay-Per-View Subscription Model”.
Benue Sur Senator Abba Moro sponsored the motion.
The move comes about a week after MultiChoice, providers of DSTV and GoTV, announced an increase in the prices of their subscription packages, which would take effect from April 1.
The company said current economic realities in the country prompted the price revision.
The upward revision of prices are: DStv Premium (N21,000), Compact (N14,250), Compact (N9,000), Confam (N5, 300), Yanga (N2, 950), Padi (N2, 150 ), Business (N2, 669), Xtraview PVR access fee (2,900).
For GoTV: Max (N4,150), Jolli (N2, 6669), GOtv Jinja (N1, 900), GOtv Lite (N900).
The company also said it had introduced incentives for customers to cushion the effect of the increase.
Movement
In his motion, Mr. Moro kicked against MultiChoice’s rate increase.
MultiChoice, he said, deliberately and perpetually raises the cost of its packages because there is no regulation in the area of pricing.
He said that thousands of pay TV subscribers in Nigeria have reacted bitterly to the development on different social media platforms, ranging from deep shock to outright outrage, with many calling on the Nigerian government to end the activities of pay TV providers. pay television services in Nigeria, especially in the area of pricing.
Bitter complaints from Nigerian subscribers to pay TV services include poor network service experienced as a result of bad weather or epileptic electricity supply, sometimes making a full month’s subscription a hassle. wasted without the subscriber seeing anything before it expires.
“Nigerians are demanding that instead of paying flat fees for monthly packages, pay TV service providers should introduce a subscription model that allows subscribers to pay per view so they can match their TV consumption with the subscription, as is the case of the measurement of electricity and mobile telephony
“The pay-per-view demanded by Nigerian subscribers is a flexible subscription plan model that allows pay-per-view TV subscribers to avoid paying for services they don’t consume.”
Therefore, the Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission to mandate all pay-TV providers to introduce a pay-per-view subscription model as opposed to the monthly prepaid model currently in place. vigor.
At the close of the plenary session, the Senate President Ahmad Lawanannounced the constitution of the panel that will investigate the pricing activities of MultiChoice Nigeria to bring it in line with international practice.
Whip MP Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North) was appointed to chair the ad-hoc committee.
Committee members include Sulaiman Kwari, Oluremi Tinubu, Yusuf Yusuf, Lekan Mustapha, Chukwuka Utazi, and Akon Eyakenyi.
Mr. Lawan tasked the panel with conducting a comprehensive investigation into how pay television service providers bill other countries.
The panel must report in a month.