Subscribers Kick against Hike in Cable TV Subscriptions
Emma Okonji
Subscribers of telephone and cable television services have kicked against the incessant hike in cable television subscriptions and have called on the federal government to intervene immediately.
The subscribers, under the aegis of the Association of Telephone, Cable Tv and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS), on Wednesday in Lagos, expressed their worries over what they described as incessant hike in pay TV subscriptions across the country.
They have therefore called on the federal government to break the monopoly of Multichoice in order to create a level playing field for others who want to play in the sector.
Speaking at a press conference to express their concerns, the National President of ATCIS-Nigeria, Mr. Sina Bilesanmi, said the pay TV services have consistently attracted hike in tariffs, to the detriment of ATCIS-Nigeria members.
He said Multichoice, being the major cable TV operator in the sub-sector of the broadcast industry, has continued to hike its subscription fees unapologetically in Nigeria. He urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to borrow a leaf from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which has a consumer affairs department and has made the protection of consumers its priority.
According to him, “It’s unclear if the NBC’s sphere of supervision extends to that of the pay TV industry because if it does, the South African operator will not be taking everyone for a ride hiding under the excuse of an increase in content costs. We had sought the introduction of the GSM payment model but they said they lacked the technology to so do. Since the company said it cannot implement it, just as MTN and Econet Wireles had earlier said per second billing was a mirage in the telecoms industry, until Globacom came to the rescue with per second billing, we passionately appeal to President Tinubu to look critically into how to break this monopoly. The government should create a level playing field. An operator must not be allowed to become too powerful.”
He advised the federal government to set up a committee to examine why attempts by indigenous operators to go into the pay TV industry is always frustrated.
“We demand for genuine liberalisation of the sector. We demand that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) should beam its search light on the pay TV sector. For instance, telecoms subscribers should be able to roll over their subscriptions,” Bilesanmi said.
