The House of Representatives has ordered Multichoice, the owner of Pay TV services DStv and GOtv, to suspend its planned subscription rate increase due to current economic conditions. The company recently announced new rates effective March 1, with DStv Premium rising from N37,000 to N44,500, Compact+ increasing from N25,000 to N30,000, and Compact moving from N17,000 to N19,000. This directive came after a motion was adopted, sponsored by Esosa Iyawe, a member of the All Progressives Congress from Edo State. He said, “The House notes that Multichoice, the owner of Pay TV options DStv and GOtv, recently announced an increase in the prices of all its packages in Nigeria, citing prevalent economic factors leading to increased operational costs as their reason for the proposed increase. “The House also notes that the 20-25 per cent hike in subscription prices would be the second time in less than a year, as the last hike was in May 2024. “We are concerned that the increase in May 2024 sparked a public outrage and many Nigerians who were already dealing with rising costs of living were forced to ditch their decoders even as they lamented the lack of competition in the pay-TV sector. “We are concerned that due to the dominant position of Multichoice in pay-TV, price increases always have a widespread impact and put consumers under undue pressure.” He further argued that “The recent hike has triggered widespread criticism from subscribers, many of whom have taken to social media to express their frustration over frequent price hikes without a corresponding improvement in service quality.” With the motion adopted, the House urged Multichoice to suspend its planned subscription price hike in Nigeria until a thorough investigation is conducted. It also directed its Committee on Commerce to examine the arbitrary price increases by Multichoice and recommend cost-effective policies for the pay-TV sector to protect consumers. The committee was given four weeks to present its findings.