MultiChoice Group, Africa’s leading pay-TV operator, has reported a significant subscriber loss in Nigeria, with its DStv and GOtv services shedding 243,000 users between April and September 2024.
The company shared these figures in its Interim Financial Results for the period ending September 30, 2024, highlighting the impact of Nigeria’s high inflation, which has exceeded 30% and driven up the costs of food, electricity, and fuel.
Earlier in its March 2024 financial report, MultiChoice had recorded an 18% subscriber loss in Nigeria. The company’s recent report further revealed a broader decline in its Rest of Africa (RoA) operations, with a 566,000-subscriber drop over the past six months. Zambia and Nigeria contributed the largest shares to this decline, with Zambia accounting for 298,000 lost subscribers and Nigeria for 243,000.
The group’s overall subscriber base for linear services has decreased by 11%, or 1.8 million subscribers year-on-year, leaving MultiChoice with 14.9 million active subscribers as of September 30, 2024. The company attributed the losses in RoA to intense consumer pressure in Nigeria due to prolonged high inflation and severe power disruptions in Zambia.
As economic hardships persist, more Nigerian customers are reportedly considering switching to alternative services, further challenging MultiChoice’s market position.
