Source: Victoria Fakiya/ Techpoint
Satellite TV provider, MultiChoice, will no longer accept new DStv subscriptions or reconnections in Malawi starting Wednesday, August 9, 2023, because it no longer provides the DStv service in the country.
This move comes after MultiChoice Malawi announced plans to raise DStv rates in the Southeastern African country. However, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) barred the DStv tariff adjustment following an interim injunction from the nation’s High Court at the end of July 2023.
The injunction prevented Multichoice Malawi (MCM) from increasing the DSTV tariffs. Following the high court’s second order, Multichoice terminated its DStv service in Malawi yesterday, August 8, 2023.
The basis for MACRA’s injunction was the argument that Multichoice Africa was ineligible to set or modify DStv service tariffs in the nation because it did not directly provide the service to the general public.
MultiChoice Africa has no choice but to permanently discontinue the DStv service due to the regulatory landscape that makes it difficult to operate and the consequences of non-compliance, which included imprisonment for the company’s staff.
MultiChoice urged Malawians to stop paying for DStv services. Users who have already paid for their most recent subscription may continue to use the service until the current 30-day viewing cycle expires on or before September 10, 2023.
Meanwhile, in 2023, MultiChoice increased its DStv rates in some African countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
For instance, in July 2023, the company announced that it’d raise the prices of all its DStv and GOtv packages in Kenya due to the country’s rising inflation and currency depreciation, starting August 1, 2023.
Besides, in April 2023, MultiChoice Nigeria increased the prices of DStv and GOtv packages due to the country’s rising inflation.
Source: Victoria Fakiya/ Techpoint
