MultiChoice in Namibia is the third country in Southern Africa to announce that it will hike DStv subscription fees from April for DStv subscribers, following MultiChoice Zambia where DStv subscribers will see a price increase of up to 10%, and in South Africa where MultiChoice South Africa is also increasing DStv fees from the end of the month.
Interestingly, MultiChoice Namibia will also leave the subscription fee of DStv Premium unchanged, just as in South Africa, as MultiChoice South Africa and MultiChoice Africa - as part of a new strategy - are trying to stem the drastic decline in the percentage of DStv Premium subscribers.
Customers are no longer seeing DStv Premium as providing adequate value for the price as MultiChoice's top-tier and most expensive service, with much of what used to be offered exclusively like access to Showmax, DStv Now, and TV channels that have been diluted to lower-tiered DStv packages, and with a growing number of customers abandoning DStv and turning to subscription video streaming service rivals like Netflix.
While DStv Premium subscribers won't pay more from April 2019, MultiChoice is, for instance, taking away their DStv print magazine that helped them with content discovery and knowing what programming is shown where as well as providing channel listings.
The price of DStv Premium in Namibia will remain unchanged at N$809 (R802.09) per month, while the other DStv packages in Namibia will increase from April.
"Over the past two years, we have made efforts to freeze and or decrease DStv prices and committed to holding our prices at the same level, barring any extreme factors such as the devaluation of currency or other macro-economic headwinds," says Roger Gertze, MultiChoice Namibia managing director, in a statement announcing the DStv price hike.
"Unfortunately, because of inflation – which stands at 5,40% in Namibia – and rising programming and operational costs, we have had to review our pricing so we can remain sustainable as a business and continue bringing you the quality video entertainment content you love."
DStv Compact Plus subscribers in Namibia will see an increase from N$509 to N$519 per month, while the Compact package will increase from N$399 from N$385.
DStv The Family will increase to N$265 in Namibia while DStv Access is increasing from N$120 to N$125. The cost of DStv Access in Namibia will increase from N$75 to N$90.
