Ghanaian subscribers to DStv, a satellite television service owned by MultiChoice Africa, will receive upgraded packages at no additional cost over the next three months, following a regulatory standoff with the government that prompted the company to make what officials are calling a "significant concession."
In a press briefing Monday,Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, announced that MultiChoice Africa had agreed to a temporary value enhancement plan that will increase subscribers’ service offerings by between 33% and 50%, depending on their current package.
The offer, which is exclusive to Ghana, comes after several weeks of high-level negotiations between MultiChoice and a government-appointed stakeholder committee tasked with reviewing DStv’s pricing structure and service quality.
“This is an unprecedented increase in value for Ghanaian customers,” Mr. George said. “Subscribers will receive more content and services for the same price, as a direct result of our regulatory intervention.”
Under the new arrangement, subscribers on the entry-level Paddy bouquet will be upgraded to the Access tier. Those on Access will move up to Family, Family to Compact, and Compact to Compact Plus. Customers on the Compact Plus bouquet will now have access to the highest-tier Premium package. Premium customers will be entered into a draw for a fully paid trip to Dubai.
The enhanced offerings are scheduled to last three months, after which the committee will assess their impact and determine whether further action is necessary.
The concession follows months of tension between the government and MultiChoice, which had resisted calls for price reductions, citing market conditions and operational constraints. The National Communications Authority (NCA), acting on the Minister’s directive, formed the review committee earlier this month amid growing public dissatisfaction over the affordability of DStv services in the country.
MultiChoice, a South Africa-based media conglomerate, operates across several African markets and has historically maintained price uniformity policies based on regional economic benchmarks. The Ghana-specific adjustment could signal a shift in that approach, at least temporarily.
Industry analysts view the outcome as a rare instance of regulatory leverage being used to secure direct consumer benefits in the pay-TV sector, though it remains unclear whether similar interventions will occur in other markets.
Neither MultiChoice Ghana nor its parent company have issued a public statement on the matter as of press time.
