Satellite broadcast giants, Multi-Choice has come under serious scrutiny in Ghana, following its recent hike in the price of its Dstv satellite in the country.
The Ghanaian government on Tuesday, issued an ultimatum to satellite providers to reduce its hiked subscription prices by Thursday or face a suspension of its broadcasting licence.
The Minister for Communications, Samuel George said he had directed the National Communications Authority to initiate suspension proceedings against MultiChoice Ghana, the local operator of DStv, if the company fails to comply with regulatory expectations for a price cut.
“I have directed the NCA to act swiftly, if by the 7th of August DStv has not complied, their broadcasting licence will be suspended,” George said.
He accused the company of overpricing its services despite favourable exchange rate conditions, citing its 15% subscription hike in April as unjustified in light of the cedi’s appreciation.
The standoff follows DStv’s rejection of a government proposal to slash subscription fees by 30%.
George criticised the company’s defence, citing a 200% depreciation of the cedi over eight years, as inadequate given the country’s current economic realities.
“My fidelity lies with the Ghanaian people. They have been cheated for years, and it is time we put an end to that,” George said.
MultiChoice Ghana, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, rejected the government’s demand in a statement on Sunday, saying it was “not tenable” due to prevailing economic conditions and the need to maintain service quality.
Managing Director, Alex Okyere, warned that enforcing price cuts could threaten jobs and reduce customer choice.
He said the company had submitted alternative proposals to the minister and the NCA.
In response, George took to X (Formerly Twitter) to reject the proposals and questioned why the company complied with a court order to suspend price increases in Nigeria, but refused to do the same in Ghana.
DStv had offered to maintain its current pricing while halting revenue remittances to its headquarters, an option George described as illogical.