AFCON: StarTimes Raises Subscription Fees in Nigeria
Quite exciting that, the African Cup of Nations will start in three days. However, the bad news remains, DStv would not be broadcasting AFCON.
MultiChoice, the parent company operating DStv and Gotv with over 23 million subscribers across 50 African countries will leave subscribers stranded during the football fiesta.
How did this happen? MultiChoice lost its broadcasting rights to a Togolese audio-visual group named, New World TV.
The company, which is still in its infancy, operates in 19 countries, mainly Francophone African countries. New World TV has a sub-licensing agreement with free-to-air and pay TV platforms to broadcast the AFCON matches.
Unfortunately, StarTimes is the only PayTV Company in Nigeria with a New World licensing agreement, therefore, Startimes is the only station broadcasting AFCON in Nigeria
The Pay TV operator is maximizing the monopoly by using the opportunity to increase its subscription fees, effective today, January 10, 2024. Naira Devaluation Deepens Economic Crisis in Nigeria
This is ahead of the games which begin on January 13, 2023. The StartTimes Super bouquet, which includes the sports channel that will broadcast the AFCON, has the highest increase of 15% from the current rate of ₦6,500 to ₦7,500.
The price increase affects its satellite TV (dish) and terrestrial TV (antenna) services. Subscribers paying ₦1,500 per month for the Nova bouquet will begin paying ₦1,700 starting today, a 13% increase.
Customers who pay ₦3,500 for the StarTimes Smart bouquet will start paying ₦3,800, a 6% increase. The PayTV operator stated on Tuesday that the increase was necessary to maintain the quality of its content for subscribers.
