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MultiChoice fees for Kenya subscribers have risen again this year
Monday 03 July 2023
MultiChoice DSTV Mobile Transport Vehicle. file image | NMG
MultiChoice Kenya will increase pay TV fees by up to Sh400 from August 1 in response to currency depreciation and rising costs of doing business, making it the second amendment this year.
The higher fees for its various packages will see adjustments between Sh50 and Sh400 for DStv customers, translating to between four percent to six percent.
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The price increases are set to add more pressure on consumers already grappling with the rising cost of living.
Some GOtv packages for Lite, Value, and Plus remained unaffected, while Max and Supa increased by Sh100 and Sh150, respectively.
MultiChoice said prices include VAT.
The increase follows another increase in April, which increased fees by between six percent and 10 percent due to higher operational costs.
The revision follows the inflation rate rising above the government’s preferred ceiling of 7.5 percent since June last year.
The Kenyan shilling also breached the 140-unit trading mark against the US dollar, losing 17.15 shillings, or 13.9 percent, since the start of the year, driving up the cost of imported services and supplies.
“MultiChoice will implement a price adjustment on some of their DStv and GOtv packages from August 1, 2023,” the company stated in a statement.
Customers in DStv Access will pay Sh1,300 from Sh1,250, reflecting an increase of four per cent, while customers in DStv Family will pay Sh1,850 from Sh1,750, reflecting an increase of 5.7 per cent.
DStv Compact will pay Sh3,500 from Sh3,300, up 6.1 percent, while DStv Compact Plus will pay Sh6,200 from Sh5,900, up 5.1 percent, and DStv Premium will pay Sh9,900 from Sh9,500, reflecting an increase of 4.2 percent.
Those using GOtv lite will pay a flat fee of 199 shillings per month.
Customers on the GOtv Max package will pay Sh1,449 from Sh1,349, while the GOtv Supa package will pay Sh1,899 from Sh1,749.
GOtv is one of the most popular entertainment brands in the country, catering to the middle class with discounted packages.
In the past three years, the company has increased fees on its packages due to the increase in operational costs.
MultiChoice and other entertainment providers have benefited greatly from the pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020 and partially in 2021.
However, pay-TV companies still face the challenge of piracy and competition from online platforms such as YouTube and Netflix, which have cut their prices in Kenya by an average of 37 percent.
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The move by Netflix, which streams its content online, is designed to increase market share in the competitive entertainment industry.
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