Multichoice made its entry into the Nigerian market through a joint venture, offering a single analog bouquet consisting of six channels. Since then, it has emerged as a prominent provider of sports, film, and music content, serving as a gateway to global entertainment for numerous Nigerians. With its highly popular pay-TV services, DStv and GOtv, MultiChoice offers a diverse range of content options, establishing itself as a trusted source for Nigerian viewers seeking a rich and varied television experience.
The exceptional performance of Multichoice’s Nigerian unit can be attributed to two key factors. Firstly, the company implemented a subscription price increase in April of the previous year, which played a significant role in driving revenue growth.
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BB Naija and price increase responsible for Multichoice’s N277 Billion Earning
Secondly, the hosting of the annual TV game show, Big Brother Naija, has contributed immensely to the company’s positive financial results, particularly among Nigerian youths who show immense interest in the program. It is noteworthy that the revenues from the Rest of Africa now account for 38% of the Multichoice Group’s total revenue, showing an increase from 33% in the previous year.
In the reviewed year, Multichoice Group disclosed earnings of $235 million (N160.7 billion) from Nigeria. Although slightly lower than the $240 million revenue in 2022, this decline can be attributed to the depreciation of the naira against the dollar.
According to a report by TechNext, MultiChoice Nigeria has announced another price increase for its DStv and GOtv services, effective from May 1, 2023. This comes one year after a previous price adjustment in April 2022. The company has stated that the price hike, ranging from 16.3% to 18.6%, is a response to the numerous economic challenges it faces.
The new price regime sets the monthly fee for subscribers on the DSTV Premium package at N24,500, representing a 16.7% increase from the current N21,000. The Compact+ package will cost N14,250 monthly, reflecting a 16.5% increase.
Multichoice N277 Billion: Rest of Africa’s performance
A significant development within Multichoice is the positive trading profit achieved by its Rest of Africa (RoA) operations, encompassing the company’s operating countries in Africa excluding South Africa. During the 2023 financial year, the RoA business generated a trading profit of ZAR0.9 billion, marking a 4% trading profit margin and a ZAR2.8 billion organic improvement compared to the previous year.
This represents the first positive trading profit recorded since Multichoice’s listing in 2019. In addition to the price increase, the company attributes this strong performance to decoder subsidies and marketing investments for the FIFA World Cup. The robust performance of RoA also contributed to an increase in Multichoice’s overall subscriber base, with the addition of 1.7 million 90-day active subscribers, representing an 8% year-on-year growth.
According to the group’s financial statement, RoA’s business generated a trading profit of 0.90 billion rands, a 4% trading profit margin, and a 2.8 billion rands organic improvement compared to the previous year. As a result, the company concluded the year with a total of 23.5 million subscribers, with 14.2 million households (60%) in the Rest of Africa and 9.3 million households (40%) in South Africa.
While the subscription revenue for RoA grew by 16% to ZAR20.4 billion during the reviewed period, Multichoice Nigeria accounted for 44% of the total revenue.
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