MultiChoice Tanzania increases DStv prices by up to 8.8% from July 2023 as the latest African country getting a DStv price hike.

by Thinus Ferreira

Tanzania is the latest African country getting a DStv price hike with MultiChoice Tanzania hiking DStv subscription fees from 1 July 2023 by up to ccc%.

Besides MultiChoice South Africa's DStv price increase in April this year, MultiChoice Africa also hiked prices in several other African countries during the first half of 2023 ranging from Ghana and Nigeria to Kenya and Uganda.

From July, DStv Premium in Tanzania is increasing from 155 000 TZS Tanzanian Shilling to 165 000 (R1268), a 6.4% increase.

DStv Compact Plus is increasing from 99 000 TZS to 105 000 TZS, an increase of 6%, while DStv Compact is getting hiked from 56 000 TZS to 60 000 TZS - an increase of 7.1%.

DStv Shangwe is increased by 8.8% from 34 000 to 37 000 TZS, and DStv Bomba is getting a 4.3% increase this year from 23 000 TZS to 24 000 TZS. The price of the DStv Poa bouquet will remain unchanged a 10 000 TZS.

ALSO READ: PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Ghana hiked fees by 19% in 2023, blames country's deteriorating economy as well as currency devaluation and fuel costs.

ALSO READ: PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Nigeria hikes DStv prices again from May 2023 by up to 22.2% with cheapest GOtv bouquet seeing biggest price hike.

ALSO READ: SHOCKER. MultiChoice Kenya does second DStv price hike of up to 10% from April 2023 just 7 months after last fee increase, angry subscribers say they're cancelling and going to streaming.

ALSO READ: Six months after its last increase MultiChoice Uganda does another DStv price hike from April 2023 up to 10.25% as outraged subscribers slam pay-TV operator for 'garbage' content that's 'repeated and super old' .

ALSO READ: MultiChoice: Here is the pay-TV company's DStv pricing from April 2023 for South Africa.

MultiChoice Tanzania slams China's StarTimes Tanzania, alleges its pay-TV rival bought up DStv decoders and dishes to make them unavailable to customers only to then destroy them.

by Thinus Ferreira

Pay-TV competition has turned nasty in Tanzania with MultiChoice alleging that rival, China's StarTimes operating as Star Media Tanzania Ltd., bought up DStv decoders and DStv branded satellite dishes only to them destroy the DStv decoders to create unavailability in the market, and then using the DStv dishes to install their own StarTimes Tanzania services.

Tanzania's The Citizen newspaper first reported that MultiChoice Tanzania has opened a police case with several individuals, "including officers and agents of StarTimes Tanzania" who have been arrested in the Katavi region of Tanzania over allegations of sabotage.

According to a statement from Hallmark Attorneys, working for MultiChoice Tanzania, people working for an on behalf of StarTimes Tanzania allegedly bought DStv decoders, DStv branded satellite dishes and DStv branded wiring to make MultiChoice's DStv decoder and installation materials unavailable or scarce in the market for consumers.

Hallmark Attorneys allege that MultiChoice Tanzania then discovered that not only were bought DStv decoders never activated but that they were deliberately destroyed, and that DStv branded equipment from LNB wires and satellite dishes to connectors were then repurposed and used to install StarTimes Tanzania services in pay-TV homes.

"The company said to benefit from such illegal conduct is Star Media Tanzania Limited under the name StarTimes Tanzania," Hallmark Attorneys says in the statement. "Various equipment acquired by the said individuals or through financing from the said individuals, for the said illegal purposes, have been seized."

David Malisa, StarTimes Tanzania marketing director, in a statement said that "the subject is in the hands of our legal department. It is being worked out, therefore preventing us from giving detailed comments". He said that StarTimes Tanzania would "later release a statement on the matter".

PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Tanzania increases subscription fees by up to 4.5% from September 2021, doesn't provide any reason.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice Tanzania on Monday announced that it too will be hiking monthly subscription fees from 1 September but isn't providing its customers with any reasons.

MultiChoice Tanzania is hiking its subscription fees similar to MultiChoice Uganda, as well as MultiChoice Kenya that also announced a price hike for DStv Uganda and GOtv Uganda subscribers, and DStv Kenya and GOtv Kenya subscribers, from September 2021.

MultiChoice Ghana is also hiking prices for DStv Ghana and GOtv subscribers in the West Africa country from September by up to over 6%.

MultiChoice Tanzania is sending DStv Tanzania and GOtv Tanzania subscribers text messages by SMS to their cellphones but the pay-TV operator isn't giving any reasons for the monthly increase.

From September 2021 DStv Premium subscribers in Tanzania will see a 4.31% monthly increase from Sh139,000 (R889.90) to Sh145,000 (R928.31).

MultiChoice is hitting DStv Compact Plus subscribers with a 4.49% increase from Sh89,000 to Sh93,000, while DStv Compact subscribers will see a 4.08% increase from Sh49,000 to Sh51,000.

MultiChoice is making DStv Family subscribers paying 3.67% more from September with this bouquet increasing from Sh29,900 to Sh31,000, and with DStv Access subscribers who will be paying Sh21,000 from September.

ALSO READ: PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Kenya increases subscription fees by up to over 8% from September 2021.

ALSO READ: PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Uganda increases subscription fees by 6% from September 2021.

ALSO READ: PRICE HIKE. MultiChoice Ghana increases DStv Ghana and GOtv Ghana subscription fees by up to over 6% from September 2021.

Former Tanzanian ambassador to South Africa, Ami Mpungwe, wants to become the majority shareholder in MultiChoice Tanzania.

Ami Mpungwe, Tanzania's former ambassador to South Africa, plans to acquire majority shareholding in MultiChoice Tanzania Limited, according to Tanzania's Fair Competition Commission (FCC).

MultiChoice Tanzania that runs DStv Tanzania and GOtv Tanzania is currently a joint venture between Ami Mpungwe as chairperson, Fabio and Marco Tramontano (represented by Franco Tramontano), and MultiChoice Africa.

Tanzania's FCC announced that Ami Mpungwe intends to acquire majority shareholding in MultiChoice Tanzania.

"The FCC is currently investigating the intended acquisitions in line with the provisions of the Fair Competition Act, 2003, No. 8 of 2003, and the Fair Competition Commission procedure rules, 2013," the FCC said in an announcement posted on the commission's website.

MultiChoice Tanzania caves under pressure from Tanzania's telecoms regulator after suspension threat, abruptly yanks all available free-to-all TV channels on DStv Tanzania from its pay-TV services.

Naspers' pay-TV arm MultiChoice on Sunday abruptly caved under pressure from the Tanzanian telecoms regulator and pulled all of the free-to-air TV channels it had been carrying on DStv Tanzania and GOtv - except for one - off its platform.

Tanzanian viewers who were watching Clouds TV, Channel Ten, TVE, Imaan TV and Star TV on DStv in the country can no longer do so.

MultiChoice's shock-move comes a week after Tanzania's telecommunications regulator warned that it plans to suspend MultiChoice Tanzania's pay-TV licence in the East African country over DStv Tanzania's refusal to drop its carriage of the free-to-air (FTA) TV channels available on DStv and GOtv.

In July Tanzania's Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) oddly also ordered the suspension of rival StarTimes Media Tanzania and it's satellite pay-TV service in the country - but for the opposite reason: saying that China's StarTimes also failed to keep to its licence.

MultiChoice initially said that it was concerned that the regulator planned to suspend its services over a case that was pending before Tanzania's Fair Competition Tribunal and that "while we remain open to constructive engagement, we are concerned that the notice has been issued even though the carriage of FTA services by pay-TV operators is currently pending before the Fair Competition Tribunal," MultiChoice Tanzania said.

MultiChoice Tanzania has now however caved under pressure and abruptly yanked all of the free-to-air TV channels it carried on DStv Tanzania, except for TBC1, without warning on Sunday.

MultiChoice Tanzania in a statement says that "in implementing the order from TCRA and the minister for works, transport and communication, MultiChoice Tanzania Ltd. has immediately suspended all of the free-to-air channels, except for TBC1, from its DStv decoders".

Naspers' MultiChoice concerned after Tanzanian regulator issues notice to suspend MultiChoice Tanzania over DStv Tanzania's refusal to drop the carriage of free-to-air TV channels.

Naspers' pay-TV arm MultiChoice on Wednesday said that it's concerned after Tanzania's telecommunications regulator said that it plans to order MultiChoice Tanzania to shut down its atellite pay-TV service in the East African country over DStv Tanzania's refusal to drop its carriage of free-to-air (FTA) TV channels on DStv and GOtv.

Last month Tanzania's Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) oddly ordered the suspension of rival StarTimes Media Tanzania and it's satellite pay-TV service in the country but for the opposite reason, saying that China's StarTimes also failed to keep to its licence.

Then the TCRA said that Star Media Tanzania Ltd., as joint venture between StarTimes and the state broadcaster Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), failed to provide free-to-air content services.

The TCRA said that "Since Star Media Tanzania has breached the law and has refused to pay the fine and refused to ensure free-to-air television channels are viewed by consumers freely the authority hereby notifies the general public that it intends to suspend all the licences issued to Star Media Tanzania Limited."

The TCRA now says that it has has ordered MultiChoice Tanzania in June to drop the carriage of free-to-air channels, but that MultiChoice in the country refused and has continued to broadcast these channels.

"In exercising its powers, the authority hereby notifies the general public that it intends to suspend all the licences issued to MultiChoice Tanzania Ltd. for failure to comply with the authority's orders and failure to adhere to the licence conditions including failure to exclude free-to-air television channels from among its subscription channels," the TCRA said in a statement.

The TCRA didn't specify any date as to when MultiChoice Tanzania's licence would be suspended.

MultiChoice Tanzania in a statement said that "While we remain open to constructive engagement, we are concerned that the notice has been issued even though the carriage of FTA services by pay-TV operators is currently pending before the Fair Competition Tribunal."

DAILY TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read from TVwithThinus - 12 October 2017.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:


■ Why Hollywood was complicit in Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse.

■ NBC News tries to do damage control with NBC News president Noah Oppenheim
in a statement saying Ronan Farrow's Harvey Weinstein story "didn't have all the elements that we needed to air". It comes after Ronan Farrow revealed that NBC passed on the must-read story about rapist Harvey Weinstein.
- NBC News staffers aren't buying it as people inside NBC News are embarrassed.

■ Cara Delevingne is the latest actress to come forward to share her "terrifying" experience with Harvey Weinstein.
- Actress Léa Seydoux on how a fat Harvey Weinstein jumped on her and tried to kiss her.

■ Harvey Weinstein's firing is already costing The Weinstein Company millions.
- Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) suspends Harvey Weinstein's membership.

■ 30 Rock twice joked about Harvey Weinstein as an aggressive serial sexual abuser.

■ Seth MacFarlane explains his Harvey Weinstein joke at the Oscars a few years ago.
Says in an emotional post that he did it from "a place of loathing and anger" at what he knew Harvey Weinstein did to friends.

■ Ben Affleck apologises for groping Hilarie Burton in 2003 at MTV's TRL.
Says "I acted inappropriately".

■ Actor Terry Crews reveals a Hollywood executive sexual predator grabbed his sexual organs
at a Hollywood function in 2016 in front of his wife. Says "hopefully me coming forward with my story will deter a predator and encourage someone who feels hopeless".

■ MultiChoice marks 20 years of operation in Tanzania.
DStv Tanzania turns 20 and operations manager Baraka Shelukindo says its business hasn't been affected by other new service providers after the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

■ Nigeria's National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) says it Nigerians are "eagerly waiting" for TStv to start.
Nigerian customers still clueless as to where they can actually buy TStv decoders and NATCOMS wants Nigeria to "look at those exclusive rights being enjoyed by DStv" that MultiChoice already secured for DStv subscribers.

■ MultiChoice Zimbabwe now says it had never accepted payment directly for DStv Zimbabwe subscriptions.
"We are constrained by the current forex situation," says DStv Zimbabwe; unable to give a clear answer as to what it's doing to help DStv Zimbabwe subscribers to stay connected.

■ Someone has started a petition about how eNCA (DStv 403) has been covering Idols on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).
"The publication chose to promote one contestant," says the petition - but there isn't any indication of who it's talking about.

■ Victor Garber is leaving Legends of Tomorrow during the 3rd season.
The Martin Stein character will be leaving soon. Warner Bros. Television has no comment.

■ MultiChoice Zambia is adding 2 new local channels to DStv in the country from 11 October: Prime TV and CamnetTV.
Prime TV is a general entertainment TV channel and Camnet TV is a contemporary Christian TV channel.