African Pay-TV operator, Multichoice Group, on Wednesday released its audited results for the year-ended March 31, 2025, revealing that its Nigerian operation lost 1.4 million in the last two years.
While Multichoice Nigeria had increased its DStv and GOtv subscription prices three times within the two years, the Group blamed several factors, including high inflation, power grid collapse, and fuel scarcity, for the subscriber loss in the country.
It further revealed that Nigeria accounted for 77% of the subscriber loss recorded across its Rest of Africa (RoA) operations between 2023 and 2025.
According to the figures released by the Group, the RoA lost a total of 1.8 million subscribers in the two years, bringing the total subscribers down to 7.5 million in 2025 from 9.3 million recorded in 2023.
A comparative analysis of the company’s figures shows that the subscriber loss, which hit its crescendo in the 2024 financial year, slowed down a bit in the 2025 financial year.
In 2024, Multichoice RoA’s subscriber base slumped to 8.1 million from 9.3 million recorded in 2023 as the company lost 1.2 million customers, representing 13% decline. However, figures for the 2025 financial year show a 7% decline from 8.1 million to 7.5 million subscribers.
Explaining the causes of the subscriber loss, Multichoice in its earnings report stated:
“Inflation across key markets remained high (around 20% on a weighted average basis, above 30% in Nigeria and Angola) and caused pressure on customer spending.
“Subscriber activity was further affected by power shortages across Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, ongoing power and fuel shortages in Nigeria, and civil unrest in Mozambique.
“As a result of the above trading conditions, active subscribers declined 7% YoY, with Nigeria accounting for over half of this decline.”
The Group in its executive summary noted that the past two financial years have been a period of significant financial disruption for economies, corporates and consumers across sub-Saharan Africa due to challenging macro-economic factors.
What you should know