Multichoice Group, the largest pay-TV provider in Africa, reported in its audited financial reports for the year that ended on March 31, 2025 that between 2023 and 2025, its Nigerian operations lost 1.4 million customers, which accounted for 77% of the overall losses reported across its Rest of Africa (RoA) countries.
According to the survey, macroeconomic and structural problems were a major factor in the consumer exodus, even though Multichoice Nigeria increased the cost of its DStv and GOtv subscriptions three times in two years. A combination of rising prices, power outages, fuel shortages, and general economic uncertainty nationwide was blamed for the significant subscriber decline, according to the report.
According to Multichoice Group, these circumstances significantly restricted consumer spending and service accessibility.
Continuing, Multichoice had this to say: “Inflation across key markets remained high — above 30% in Nigeria and Angola — creating pressure on customer spending. Subscriber activity was further affected by power shortages in Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, and civil unrest in Mozambique.”
However, from 9.3 million in 2023 to 7.5 million in 2025, Multichoice’s RoA sector lost 1.8 million members overall in just two years. Moreover, half of the annual reduction was caused by Nigeria alone.
The largest loss, according to Multichoice, happened in the 2024 fiscal year when 1.2 million users stopped using the service, a 13% decrease from the year before. In 2025, the fall slowed marginally, dropping 7%, or 600,000 fewer subscribers. Due mostly to a decline in subscription income, revenue fell by ZAR5.2 billion (9 percent) year over year to ZAR50.8 billion.
Compared to the prior year, trading profit decreased by 49% to ZAR4.0 billion, or ZAR3.8 billion. Showmax’s trading losses of ZAR2.3 billion and its foreign exchange income losses of ZAR5.2 billion further exacerbated the slump. Macroeconomic instability, piracy, social media’s ascent, and streaming platforms’ increasing competitiveness have all put additional strain on Multichoice’s old business model in sub-Saharan Africa, the company admitted.
