DSTV Nigeria Considering Pay-As-You-Go Option Amid Growing Competition From Kwese

DSTV users in Nigeria may soon be availed the Pay-As-You-Go option, as MultiChoice Nigeria considers the model in the face of growing competition from Kwese.

Pay-As-You-Go or pay-as-you-consume is a pricing scheme in television broadcasting in which viewers are required to pay a fee in order to watch a specific programme.

John Ugbe, managing director of Multichoice Nigeria said that pay-as-you-go is something it might consider depending on whether their current business model and available technology would permit it. He said:

Pay-as-you-consume is something we may consider if it is technologically possible and the business model supports it.

The Pay-As-You-Go option would reduce costs on the part of consumers in the sense that DSTV would charge them according to their consumption only and exclude interference.

What does this mean?

With the emergence of more players in the Nigerian and African Pay-TV market, MultiChoice will not have a choice than to change its stance and adopt the Pay-As-You-Go model. Already, one of its strongest competitors, Kwese TV, last year unveiled its Pay-As-You-Go package. StarTimes another rising competitor also recently did same. Therefore, MultiChoice has to follow suit or risk losing its customers.

For many years, MultiChoice has been the preferred Pay-TV provider for most Africans as their DSTV decoders are used in many homes. It almost appeared like a monopoly, until recently when other providers like Kwese emerged on the scene. But despite this development, DSTV continues to maintain a competitive edge, thanks to the exclusive rights on premium sports it enjoyed for years. Kwese TV’s entrance into the African market is slowly challenging this status quo.