Since it launched in Nigeria in 1993, I am very sure that MultiChoice Nigeria (owner of DSTv) has not experienced such barrage as it is experiencing now. The assault on the company doubled when many subscribers had to pay increased fees for premium services.
How DSTV manages to put other cable TV providers in Nigeria out of business is something I want to understand.
It is not like they provide excellent service. They keep exploiting Nigerians, yet they are in business.
8th wonder of the world maybe?? 🤔
— Mr. Bond (@Mrkels) November 4, 2018
The attacks range from the call for price adjustment to calls for Pay-as-You-Use service and an outright closing of shop:
You see @Dstv in Nigeria to me oo they’re the biggest thief and cheat to we masses #6+Dstvdontshowtuesdaymatch#
— Omofela (@fela0173) November 6, 2018
In this piece, I have tried to take us into the future where the desires of the folks who want DSTv out of the country comes to pass. And I have identified a couple of things we will have to contend with when we get there.
Jobs, jobs, jobs…
Perhaps it is unfair to have started on this note, but many folks will lose their jobs when Multichoice’s DStv exits the space. That is the first reality we will have to contend with.
Presently, DStv has more than 1000 staff members (started operating with only 30 employees) while indirectly supporting a thousand more jobs. There are a lot of perspectives to consider this from: full-time employees, customer service agents in outlets nationwide, sales agents, installers, ‘sabimen’ (engineers) and thousands of retailers.
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While we might argue that these individuals will find some other sources of income (perhaps from the next giant platform), the truth is that the options are not readily available. So, we are safe to welcome many loved ones back into the labour market.
What options do we have?
The big winner if we lose DSTv will be Startimes (a Chinese multinational media company). So, sorry if we were xenophobic with DSTv.
But, on a serious note, what options do we really have? The big question will be: will the smaller players be able to bear the large influx? As it stands, TStv, ACtv, and KWESE are down and maybe totally out.
https://twitter.com/iamTopMaestro/status/1059215850199224321
If we argue that, perhaps, the terrestrial stations will scale up to the challenge, there is no nicer way to say that they simply cannot! They cannot offer the content options that a platform like DSTv offers (even in a city like Lagos). Then, the nationwide coverage of the big players like Channelstv is predicated on the spread of Satellite TV.
Until the competent successor takes over, most part of the country will be blacked-out because “viewable” local stations cannot profitably cover the entire nation themselves.
I must add that there are other options like the “Trend” in the Southeast of the country, the SES platform and private satellite dishes. These are either cost-intensive or even reliant on DSTv for success.
DSTV's premium package in Nigeria costs N11,650 while the minimum wage in Nigeria is N18,000.
— Africa Facts (@affricanfacts) November 4, 2018
So, what options do we really have?
Streaming is the next big thing…
And, we have options to choose from too.
But, I am sure even the richest of us will spend a fortune feeding the family’s viewing appetite. For individuals, yes, but when we factor in the kids, other family members and visitors, we are really going to spend a lot. And, forget what the ads are saying, services can be frustrating, over here.
If there was stable internet in Nigeria, nobody would sub dstv tbh pic.twitter.com/3FVju6fAVi
— MR. OYIN 🍯 (@MisterOyin) October 31, 2018
I know you won’t want to start jubilation minutes after a goal has been scored everywhere else around the world!
I strongly believe that at some point in our existence, the streaming platforms will own the market, for real. I just think we are not there yet.
What we will miss…
Putting together the fears I have listed above, it is safe to say that we have to considerably water down some aspects of our viewing appetites or be ready to miss them totally. These include Supersports, African Magic, Ebonylife, ROK and so many others that are only available on DStv.
Middle Class Nigerians are a huge problem.
We are largely ignorant of the reality of Nigeria & are an inconsiderate bunch.We are trying to paint DSTV’s increase in rates as an attack on the poor.
Poor Nigerians don’t watch DSTV.
You really don’t understand poverty in Nigeria.— Ndi Kato (@YarKafanchan) September 2, 2018
We can afford to catch some like CNN, Aljazeera, Channels on other platforms though but we will surely lose contents that are exclusively DSTv’s: BBNaija, Jara, Shuga, AMVCA etc. How about a host of others that are hosted on DStv channels only?
In sum
While I would not justify DSTv’s pricing or business model, I can say that we are getting what we deserve. Owning a media platform is cost intensive anywhere. Owning a media platform in Nigeria doubles the cost of investment and reduces the odds of survival at the same time.
The consumers will continue to bear the cost of this reality if nothing changes about our operating environment.
According to Business Day, Nigeria has the lowest DStv charges in Africa.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) August 26, 2018
Moreso, thriving economies enjoy the best services because of competing quality service providers. We cannot compel DSTv to serve us well if they do not have a compelling reason (mostly self-preservation) to do so. Someone said that the best way to show that a stick is crooked is by placing a straight one beside it.
What exactly is made in Nigeria n is blown sef??aside artistes
Dstv not ours
GoTv not ours
Airtel not ours
Mtn not ours
Cars we don't make none
TV none
Fan none
Phones noneBuh aba made is everywhere
Sad!! pic.twitter.com/ex2B1ZDNgP— search R DUNT on audiomack🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷 (@OfficialRdunt) November 4, 2018
Either by community effort, government backing or individual drive, we must have media platforms by Nigerians that will show us what we want from other service providers, similar to the way Glo demonstrated the per second billing.
After all, we cannot eat our cake, have it and keep it in the fridge!