by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice will resume its DStv service in Malawi on Friday according to the country's communications regulator after a stand-off over a price hike which saw the pan-African pay-TV operator take the decision to remove its service from Malawi a month ago in a first-ever country exit.
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) in a new statement on the tariff dispute between the regulator and MultiChoice Africa says that DStv Malawi services will now resume on Friday 8 September.
"On 4 September the parties met in Lilongwe and reached an agreement and understanding which will see the resolution of the matter and resumption of DStv services in Malawi by Friday 8 September 2023."
Daud Suleman, MACRA director-general, says the regulator "assures the public that this matter will be resolved in a manner that balances the interests of either party and within the boundaries of the applicable laws".
Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, MultiChoice group executive for corporate affairs and stakeholder relations, in response to a media query and asked about confirmation about the resumption of service and whether DStv Malawi will resume its service at the increased price, said that "a comprehensive media statement will be issued
once there is finality on the matter".
The tiff started when MultiChoice announced another price hike for DStv in Malawi from August without first getting approval from the regulator, and after MultiChoice Malawi was already fined for an earlier price hike it didn't first get approval for.
MultiChoice which said it is not MultiChoice Malawi but MultiChoice Africa doing price increases for various African countries, announced that it would be shutting down DStv and exiting its service from the country after Malawi's High Court granted the regulator an injunction when it and the pay-TV operator went to court over the matter.
It was the first time MultiChoice - under pressure from global video streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and others gobbling up subscribers across Africa - decided to shut down and exit its traditional pay-TV service in an African country after being denied a price increase.
