FCCPC Orders MultiChoice to Suspend Subscription Fee Hike

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed MultiChoice to halt its planned subscription price increase. Read more on the development.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has instructed MultiChoice Nigeria, which operates DStv and GOtv, to keep its current subscription rates unchanged until an ongoing investigation into the company’s planned tariff changes is concluded.

This was revealed by the FCCPC in a statement issued on Thursday through their Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu.

The directive comes after MultiChoice requested more time for its scheduled appearance before the commission due to concerns about its repeated price increases.

While the FCCPC approved the company’s request to delay the session, it has now rescheduled the hearing for March 6, 2025. The company is required to ensure its CEO and relevant officers attend along with a comprehensive response to the inquiry.

The statement indicated, “As per this directive, MultiChoice is specifically instructed to keep the current pricing as of February 27, 2025, until the commission completes its review and issues a final decision.”

The agency also stressed that the decision to freeze prices is intended to prevent potential consumer exploitation while the investigation is ongoing.

Previously, the regulator called upon MultiChoice’s Chief Executive Officer to attend an investigative hearing on February 27.

On Monday, MultiChoice informed its customers about the upcoming price adjustment, explaining it as part of a review of their pricing structure.

Although the company claimed that these changes were essential for maintaining world-class content delivery, this development raised concerns among subscribers.

Under the proposed adjustment, the price of the DStv Compact package would be raised, while the costs for both the Compact Plus and Premium packages would remain unchanged at N30,000 and N44,500 respectively.

In its announcement titled “Price Adjustments for DStv and GOtv Packages,” the company stated, “Dear Customer, please be aware that starting March 1, 2025, there will be a price adjustment on all DStv packages.”