Multichoice, Africa’s leading entertainment provider, is facing a significant crisis as its subscriber base for DStv and GOtv has plummeted by nearly 4 million in less than two years.
The company’s subscriber base has dropped from over 23 million to 19.3 million, with a significant portion of the losses occurring outside South Africa ¹.
The pay-TV giant has attributed the decline to a “challenging consumer environment” that has resulted in limited revenue growth. “The challenging consumer environment has resulted in a decline in subscribers and limited revenue growth,” the company noted in its latest voluntary operational update ¹.
Nigeria and Zambia have been identified as key markets driving the exodus, with economic factors cited as primary culprits. In Nigeria, inflation has remained above 30% for the majority of the last 12 months, while Zambia has experienced extreme power disruptions ².
The company’s linear subscriber base declined by 11%, or 1.8 million subscribers, year-over-year, to 14.9 million active subscribers as of September 30, 2024.
The losses have been particularly steep in Nigeria, where MultiChoice lost 243,000 subscribers for its DStv and GOtv services between April and September 2024 ³.
MultiChoice has acknowledged the challenges it faces, warning shareholders to brace for tougher times ahead. The company is exploring new ventures, such as its streaming service Showmax, which has seen significant growth, but it remains to be seen whether these efforts will be enough to stem the tide of subscriber losses ⁴.