Pay-Per-View: Will TStv End DSTV’s Monopoly in Nigeria?

After a botched attempt to launch full operations in Nigeria three years ago, Pay TV startup, Telecoms Satellite Television (TStv) is back on the market and ready to take on Multichoice-owned DSTV, which has monopolised the Pay TV space in the country since 1995 when it launched in the Nigerian market.

As TStv plans to roll out by October 1, its unique selling proposition is pay-per-view service which is targeted at ending DSTV’s dominance and its seemingly impossible pay-as-you-go business model.

For years, Nigerians have protested DSTV’s pre-paid service and demanded a flexible system that would allow them pay only for the content they consume but the company had insisted it’s not doable.

With TStv now claiming to be back for good, Nigerians have taken to social media, threatening to boycott DSTV if the company does not adopt the pay-per-view model. Some have also raised concerns that TStv’s pay-per-view may not be sustainable.

Regardless, TStv is rallying government support and putting plans in top gear to launch on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day. The company recently appointed public relations expert and popular social media influencer, Demola Olarewaju as its Head of corporate affairs and got the backing of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the regulatory body for Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.

On Monday, Sept. 28, the management of TStv paid a courtesy visit to the Acting Director-General of NBC, Armstrong Idachaba to solicit support for its brand. The NBC boss did not hide his displeasure of DSTV’s pre-paid model as he encouraged TStv to challenge it.

Idacha said, “At this time, I think that the major issue confronting the PayTv sector is the area of giving Nigerians option of deregulating purchasing capacity in terms of pay as you go concept.

“We believe this will give you the visibility if you remain committed to the idea. We welcome that option and wish that it serves as a stimulant and as a progressive index for other pay-TV operators to adopt.

“Some of them have come up with a lot of excuses for why pay-per-view is difficult and why it is not doable. We want you to be the galvaniser to prove the naysayers wrong that this is doable in the interest of Nigerians.”

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Just recently, DSTV reviewed its subscription rates upwardly, blaming it on the increase in VAT, from 5 percent to 7.5 percent.

After the review, premium subscribers now pay N18,400, from N15,800. Dual-view subscribers pay N22,500 from N18,500. Compact Plus subscribers are now charged N12,400 from N10,650 and compact bouquet pay N7,900 from N6,800.

Confam bouquet subscribers now pay N4,615 from N4,500. Yanga Plan subscribers pay N2,565 from N2,500.

This is not the first time DSTV would be challenged by newcomers albeit unsuccessful. HITV came close to giving Nigerians a better alternative but the company failed after it lost the rights to air the English Premiership and Champions League matches among other internal issues.

Would TStv succeed in its second attempt at ending DSTV’s monopoly? Could the company sustain the pay-per-view service? One thing is certain though, TStv should be ready for a long-drawn battle for market share, and DSTV is at a vantage point.