by Thinus Ferreira
In the escalating fight between Malawi's regulator and MultiChoice which announced it's exiting DStv from the country after it was denied a price hike, Malawi's regulator has now informed the pay-TV operator that it must pay R337 000 in arrear fees and take its e-waste with it when it leaves.
After a tense stand-off that went to the country's High Court in Lilongwe, MultiChoice Africa Holdings (MAH) announced last week that it's removing its DStv service from the Southeast African country after the country's regulator, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), blocked the pay-TV operator's planned DStv price increase from August.
MACRA had already fined MultiChoice in January 2023 for implementing a price hike in July 2022 and also ordered it to refund all DStv subscribers for adjusting its DStv tariffs without approval from the regulator.
DStv Malawi last week told subscribers to stop payments for DStv and that all existing subscribers in the country will be cut off within 30 days or less, with no new DStv subscriptions or reconnections that will be done from today.
Around 90 people at MultiChoice Malawi are set to lose their jobs, along with independent pay-TV installers who will feel the impact, with the Malawi government which will lose out on taxes and regulatory licensing fees.
It's the first time MultiChoice, that operates its DStv service in around 50 countries across Africa, is exiting one in this way, with thousands of pay-TV subscribers set to lose access to the entertainment, sports and TV news channels carried on DStv.
MultiChoice's DStv price hike in Malawi was the latest after increases in several African countries this year, including Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa and two increases this year each in Ghana and Kenya.
At the end of March MultiChoice had 14.2 million subscribers in Africa, excluding South Africa, and another 9.3 million in South Africa.
MultiChoice Africa and MultiChoice Malawi say that it's not MultiChoice Malawi deciding on DStv price hikes but MultiChoice Africa, with MultiChoice Malawi that has no choice but to implement price adjustments.
After MultiChoice Africa pulled the trigger and announced MultiChoice Malawi will shutter and DStv will exit Malawi, Daud Suleman, MACRA director-general, has now written to MultiChoice Malawi to tell the pay-TV operator it owes more than R19 million in unpaid licensing fees it needs to settle before exiting.
Suleman also informed MultiChoice that it needs to take its DStv equipment with it that will become obsolete and submit a plan to the regulator as to how it will remove its e-waste, and how DStv subscribers will be compensated for being left with worthless DStv decoders.
MACRA told MultiChoice the regulator must be informed of the "measures put in place to ensure your smooth exit, especially regarding how refunds to consumers would be affected, especially those that have paid beyond your shutdown date, as well as compensation to consumers for your proprietary DStv equipment that will become obsolete after your shutdown date".
"Further indicate the mechanisms put in place to ensure the appropriate disposal and take-back system of the equipment with regard to e-waste as your equipment will become obsolete within Malawi".
MACRA also wants to know what mechanisms MultiChoice is putting in place to "ensure that DStv signals from your satellite will not illegally use the Malawi spectrum after the shutdown date".
MACRA also sent MultiChoice its latest financial statement, telling the pay-TV operator that "you owe the authority MK19 372 447.20 (R336 930) in unpaid licence fees" which should be paid within 30 days and that MultiChoice Malawi must submit your audited statements for 2022 for the calculation of 2022 levies".
MultiChoice: Regulator has a hostile attitude
Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, MultiChoice Africa group executive for corporate affairs, told TVwithThinus that MultiChoice Africa Holdings is "aware of a letter sent to MultiChoice Malawi on Friday 11 August regarding the withdrawal of the DStv service in Malawi".
"The letter is consistent with the hostile attitude the regulator has been engaging with, disregarding legal facts around the relationship between MAH and MultiChoice Malawi. We are aware that MultiChoice Malawi is preparing a response to MACRA."
Modimoeng says "the government of Malawi has directly reached out to MultiChoice Africa and exploratory discussions towards a speedy resolution are currently underway".
Modimoeng says MultiChoice Malawi provides a subscription management service to MultiChoice Africa and has a subscription management service licence and that MultiChoice Africa is not licensed by MACRA.
"MACRA has insisted that MultiChoice Malawi apply for approval for tariff increases for DStv, for which it does not set the tariff, which the law does not require it to do. This is the nub of the problem and why the parties are in court".
"MACRA fined MultiChoice Malawi in December 2022 and ordered that the increase tariff for DStv be refunded. MultiChoice Malawi approached the court and got an injunction stopping the order from taking effect toll the main matter is heard on 25 August. When DStv put through its latest increase, MACRA then also approached the same court which granted it the latest injunction."
"MultiChoice Africa Holdings and MultiChoice Malawi are two separate companies and MultiChoice Malawi is owned and controlled by separate shareholders. MultiChoice Africa is not MultiChoice Malawi's parent".
