Tribunal orders month free Multichoice subscription for Nigerians

Voice Air Media, VAM News Update

THE Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) has fined the prominent Pay-TV operator and Africa’s largest broadcaster, MultiChoice Nigeria, owners of DSTV and GoTV, the sum of N150 million for disputing its (court) jurisdiction.

The court also ordered the company to give its subscribers a one-month free subscription.

A three-man panel led by Mr Thomas Okusu gave the verdict on Friday.

The tribunal had previously blocked MultiChoice from raising subscription fees without proper notice, based on a lawsuit by Mr Festus Onifade, a legal practitioner, who claimed the eight-day notice given for the price increase was inadequate.

Mr Onifade had sued DSTV, accusing the Pay-TV of unjustly increasing subscription fees without one month’s notice to customers and leveraging it to seek interim orders.

The Counsel for Multichoice had contended that previous rulings had settled price regulation issues, while Mr Onifade focused on the inadequate notice rather than the price hike itself, prompting the tribunal to affirm its jurisdiction and rule against Multichoice.

The court subsequently fixed July 3 for a hearing of the plaintiff’s substantive suit.

In late April, the CCPT restrained Multichoice Nigeria Limited from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services scheduled to begin on May 1.

The company had on April 1, 2024, hiked the prices of all its packages by as much as 25 per cent due to the challenging operational environment.