MultiChoice Nigeria has announced another aggressive slash in the prices of its DStv and GOtv decoders, effective November 1, 2025.
The DStv HD decoder, previously priced at N10,000, will now sell for N7,900, while the GOtv decoder has been reduced from N9,900 to N6,500.
The move, which marks the second major price reduction on hardware in just five months, is officially being positioned as part of the company’s “Festive Campaign” to make entertainment more accessible to Nigerians ahead of the holiday season. However, the deep discount comes against a turbulent backdrop for the South African-based media giant, which has been grappling with significant subscriber losses, intense competition from global streaming services, and a harsh economic climate in Nigeria, its largest market.
Details of the New Pricing
According to the company’s statement, the new pricing is for the decoder units only. The cost of installation hardware remains separate, with the DStv dish (satellite) now selling for N10,000 and the GOtenna (for GOtv) priced at N3,500.
This new pricing structure is a clear continuation of an aggressive hardware subsidy strategy. It follows a landmark 50% price cut in June 2025, when MultiChoice, under its “We’ve Got You” campaign, dramatically dropped the DStv decoder price from N20,000 to N10,000 and the GOtv decoder from N18,600 to N9,900.
The latest reduction deepens that strategy, suggesting the company is prioritising customer acquisition and lowering the barrier to entry over one-time hardware revenue.
Speaking on the development, Tope Oshunkeye, Executive Head of Marketing at MultiChoice, framed the move as a consumer-centric initiative.
“As the festive season draws closer, family time and celebrations are a big part of our lives, and what better way to do this than to spend quality time with loved ones while enjoying premium entertainment,” Oshunkeye stated. “At MultiChoice, we remain committed to making world-class storytelling accessible to every home. This price slash makes it possible for more families to enjoy quality local and international entertainment without putting too much pressure on their pockets.”
A Strategy Forged by Headwinds
While the festive spirit is the official reason, the market context points to more urgent drivers. In its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2025, the MultiChoice Group reported a decline of 1.2 million active subscribers, bringing its total base down to 14.5 million.
Crucially, the company’s report identified Nigeria as the primary source of this customer exodus. The Nigerian market reportedly accounted for 77% of the subscriber losses recorded across its “Rest of Africa” (RoA) operations between 2023 and 2025. MultiChoice itself has acknowledged the “unprecedented headwinds” in the country, citing high inflation, currency instability, and a significant decrease in consumer purchasing power as major factors.
This decoder price war is being waged even as the company’s core product—monthly subscriptions—has become more expensive. MultiChoice has instituted several subscription price hikes over the last two years, with the most recent in March 2025. That hike, which the company attributed to rising operational costs, saw packages like DStv Premium rise to N44,500 and Compact to N19,000, drawing widespread consumer criticism.
This has created a sharp disconnect for consumers: the cost of access (the decoder) is falling, but the cost of viewing (the subscription) is rising, pushing many households to abandon the service.
The Streaming and Regulatory Squeeze
The company is also fighting a multi-front war. On one side, it faces intense competition from global streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube, which offer significantly lower price points and on-demand content. The June price cut was explicitly noted by analysts as an attempt to “win back its lost customers” and retain active subscribers in a market increasingly dominated by these digital-first players.
On another front, MultiChoice has faced mounting regulatory pressure. Its recurrent subscription hikes prompted an investigation by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in February 2025. The agency summoned the company to explain its pricing, citing concerns over “potential market dominance abuse” and “recurrent unilateral price hikes.”
A Battle for Entry, Not Just Hardware
Market analysts view this latest move as a bold, defensive strategy. By dropping decoder prices to their lowest-ever levels, MultiChoice is effectively sacrificing hardware profits to lure new and returning subscribers onto its platform. The company is betting that once a customer has the hardware installed, they are more likely to pay for a monthly subscription, even if only intermittently.
The real battle is no longer about selling decoders; it’s about acquiring and retaining a monthly subscriber base. This aggressive hardware subsidy is a direct attempt to combat churn and rebuild its shrinking customer numbers.
As Nigeria’s challenging economic conditions persist, the question for MultiChoice is whether a N7,900 decoder is enough to lock in a customer who is also facing a N19,000 monthly bill for the Compact package. While consumers will welcome the cheaper hardware just in time for the holidays, the fundamental challenge for DStv and GOtv remains: proving their monthly value against cheaper, more flexible alternatives in a deeply stressed economy.
