The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MultiChoice

  • Zambia orders suspension of controversial reality show

    Zambia’s broadcasting regulator on Tuesday ordered Africa’s biggest television operator, Multichoice, to suspend a reality show for allegedly promoting homosexuality.

    The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) said Multi Choice Zambia, a unit of the South Africa-based television operator, should immediately suspend the “Lusaka Hustle’’ show on its Zambezi Magic on the DSTV platform.

    According to the regulator, this follows public outcries that the show promoted a lifestyle contrary to Zambia’s values and culture.

    Read Also: PeeJay wins YesYouCan reality show

    “The Authority has received several comments from the public concerning the shows in question.

    “And as such, has directed Multichoice Zambia to withdraw the ‘Lusaka Hustle’  show in public interest,’’ IBA Director General, Josephine Mapoma, said.

    On Sunday, Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs Godfridah Sumaili asked the television operator to suspend the reality show which was launched in January.

  • MultiChoice talent factory master class begins today  

    The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Master classes, the flagship Corporate Shared Value project of MultiChoice Nigeria, will begin today.

    A statement by the Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe, said the Master classes will present the industry with “Best in Class” workshops to increase MTF’s up-skilling outreach to established film and television industry professionals and are aimed at developing technical skills in cinematography, audio and storytelling to improve the quality of local productions.

    He said: “The Masterclasses will be powered by various industry partners as part of the shared value initiative’s three touch points alongside the MTF Academy and the soon-to-be launched industry networking portal.

    “The workshop is open to invited members of the film and television industry, who aspire to take their craft to the next level. Participants will be drawn from across the spectrum of the industry, with delegates from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Lagos Television, independent television production companies and leading Nollywood professionals.

    “These will be led by well-respected experts, among whom are South African director and producer Bobby Heaney; sound consultant from Dolby India, Vikram Joglekar; pan-African storytelling and creative consultant Allison Triegaardt; award-winning Kenyan film producer Appie Matere; and Jonathan Kovel, the cinematographer behind the award-winning South African film Ayanda…”

    “Additionally, a special MTF Masterclass on Nollywood will be facilitated by Femi Odugbemi, Nigerian film/television expert and Academy Director for MTF Academy West Africa.

    “We are excited about the launch of this next touch point of MTF, as it reaffirms our commitment to supporting the industry and promoting sustainability by creating shared value across the business through quality programming for our customers.”

     

     

  • MultiChoice launches Step Up campaign

    MultiChoice Nigeria has launched a Step Up Campaign to delight its DStv and GOtv customers with a brand-new offer.

    The firm’s Chief Customer Officer, Martin Mabutho, at a news conference in Lagos, reiterated the company’s commitment to give more value for money to loyal customers, saying they will enjoy content on a higher package than what they paid for. He encouraged subscribers to remain active to enjoy quality entertainment lined up for the year.

    He said: “We are pleased to launch this first-of-its-kind offer that will give our customers the opportunity to experience exciting programming available across higher packages at the price of a lower package. With this offer, we are giving a boost and topping up on what our customers pay to enjoy more on our DStv and GOtv platforms. It is our desire to make great content more accessible, and we encourage our customers to take advantage of this special offer.

    “From January 15 till April 15, the Step-Up campaign offer will give all active and disconnected DStv Compact, Family and Access customers the opportunity to pay for an upgrade package and get a boost to view programming on an even higher package within 48 hours. DStv customers on the Access package can pay N4,000 for Family package and get a boost to view programmes on the Compact package, while customers on the Family package can pay N6,800 for Compact package and instead view Compact Plus package programming. Likewise, Compact customers can also pay N10,650 for Compact Plus package and in turn get Premium package programming.

    “Customers on the GOtv platform are also not left out of this offer. GOtv Plus, Value and Lite customers will get upgraded to GOtv Max when they pay a reduced fee of N2,500 while GOtv ‘tops up’ with N700. Active and disconnected GOtv Max customers can also take advantage of this limited time offer to renew their subscription for N2,500.”

    Mabutho added that the  campaign will give GOtv customers on Plus, Value and Lite an opportunity to experience the exciting premium content available on GOtv Max including La Liga, Serie A, FA Cup, BET, Fox Entertainment, StarLife, ROK 2 and CBS Reality among others.

  • MultiChoice unveils Step Up campaign

    MultiChoice Nigeria, on Tuesday in Lagos, kicked off the New Year for DStv and GOtv customers with a brand-new offer tagged ‘Step Up’.

    From January 15 to April 15, the Step-Up campaign offer will give all active and disconnected DStv Compact, Family and Access customers the opportunity to pay for an upgrade package and get a boost to view programming on an even higher package within 48 hours.

    DStv customers on the Access package can pay N4,000 for Family package and then get a boost to view programmes on the Compact package, while customers on the Family package can pay N6,800 for Compact package and instead view Compact Plus package programming. Same way, Compact customers can also pay N10,650 for Compact Plus package and in turn get Premium package programming.

    Customers on the GOtv platform are also not left out of this offer. GOtv Plus, Value and Lite customers will get upgraded to GOtv Max when they pay a reduced fee of N2,500 while GOtv ‘tops up’ with N700. Active and disconnected GOtv Max customers can also take advantage of this limited time offer to renew their subscription for N2,500. This campaign will give GOtv customers on Plus, Value and Lite an opportunity to experience the exciting premium content available on GOtv Max including La Liga, Serie A, FA Cup, BET, Fox Entertainment, StarLife, ROK 2 and CBS Reality and more.

    Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, said the offer reiterates the firm’s commitment to give more value for money to loyal customers as they will enjoy content on a higher package than what they paid for while encouraging them to remain active to enjoy quality entertainment lined up for the year.

    He said: “We are pleased to launch this first-of-its-kind offer that will give our customers the opportunity to experience the exciting programming available across higher packages at the price of a lower package. With this offer, we are giving a boost and topping up on what our customers pay for to enjoy more on our DStv and GOtv platforms. It’s our desire to make great content more accessible and we encourage our customers to take advantage of this special offer.”

    He added that the offer will enable more Nigerians to stay connected and keep up to date with the latest news, sports, local content and general entertainment this first quarter.

    Some of the exciting programming to look forward to starting from January include matches of the 2018/19 Emirates FA Cup. This boosts MultiChoice’s major football title acquisitions, which include the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Champions League.

    There is also UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation. With over 40 live events a year and 100 hours of magazine programming, DStv and GOtv fans will see the world’s best mixed martial artists regularly appearing on their screens starting Monday, 28 January. For local content, there are the critically acclaimed telenovela, Ajoche, and hilarious comedy series, Flatmates, which will debut on GOtv this month on Africa Magic.

    The Step-Up offer is open to both active and disconnected DStv Access, Family and Compact customers while subscribers on GOtv Lite, Value, Plus, and Max are also eligible for participation.

  • MultiChoice appreciates Media

    MultiChoice Nigeria over the weekend held a year-end party to appreciate the support provided by the media throughout 2018.

    The event which held at the MultiChoice headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, also served as a content showcase, taking a retrospective look at MultiChoice’s 2018 content roster whilst providing some insight into the organisation’s local and international plans for 2019.

    Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho said: “2018 was definitely a year to remember for us as we celebrated numerous milestones, including the incredibly successful Big Brother Naija: Double Wahala, end to end coverage of the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Italia Serie A, which we brought back to our screens, and the launch of MultiChoice Talent Factory, our flagship investment initiative to train Africa’s future storytellers”.

    Speaking further, Mabutho said: “MultiChoice and Africa Magic also celebrated 25 years and 15 years respectively of providing world class international and local content to viewers across the continent. All these successes have been recorded because of the incredible support given to us by the media across all platforms. As is our tradition, we celebrate and recognize the incredible role they continue to play across the industries where we operate.”

  • DStv unveils sport packages for festive period

    Sports and entertainment company, MultiChoice Nigeria, has rolled out a special campaign to treat customers on its DStv to a memorable festive season.

    The offer which will run for two weeks starting from Monday 17 December – Friday 4 January, showcase channel on SuperSport 1, will remind viewers of many of the year’s most spectacular highlights, from France’s dramatic World Cup triumph in Russia, Eliud Kipchoge’s superhuman feat at the Berlin Marathon and the Super Falcon’s swoop to an unprecedented eleventh Africa Cup of Nations title.

    Also to be featured is the best of cricket, golf, tennis and so much more. Several top sport documentaries will be weaved into the offering, including Fire in Babylon, Forged in Fire, Being Serena and Strokes of Genius.

    The Immortals, a series of soccer documentaries, will feature luminaries like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Thierry Henry and many more.

    In similar vein, The Immortals – Sporting Greats will shine a light on the great exploits of superstars like Tiger Woods, Carl Lewis, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

    All the tennis and golf majors will feature, as will the Commonwealth Games and Winter Olympics where Africa’s participation continues to grow with each edition of the Games, plus a look back at all the FIFA World Cup finals from 1970 and the best Champions League finals.

    With 2019 shaping to be another pivotal sporting year, the channel will also showcase epic Rugby World Cup archive footage, plus build-up content to Japan 2019.

    The Showcase channel will be available on DStv packages from Premium to Compact on SuperSport 1.

    According to Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, “The festive season is a great time for family and friends to come together, and we are making those moments extra special with world-class content on our platforms”.

  • MultiChoice introduces FestiveTogether campaign

    MULTICHICE Nigeria has unveiled a  special offer for customers on its DStv and GOtv platforms.

    The campaign tagged #FestiveTogether will enable family and friends celebrate the Yuletide.

    All new and existing customers can  purchase the Explora, dish kit with one-month Compact subscription for N29,900, instead of N52,100 while the HD decoder, dish kit with one-month Compact subscription will go for only N9,900 from N11,900.

    GOtv Max package costs N3,200.

    According to Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, ‘’ The  season is a great time for family and friends to come together, and we are making those moments extra special with world class content on our platform.’’

    He said the season would be marked by exciting TV content for the family.

    “Our customers will enjoy their yearly festive traditions even more as they create new memories with a line-up of amazing content such as our special Nigerian Festivals pop-up channel, which features some of the biggest music concerts and shows on the continent, including The Experience, Calabar Carnival, Akwa Ibom Christmas Concert andOne Lagos Fiesta. We also have the much-loved special kiddies’channel, Animania which will be a perfect companion for DStv kids this season. Football lovers will still enjoy the matches of the best football leagues in the world; Premier League, UEFA Champions League, La Liga and Serie A LIVE and in glorious HD on SuperSport channels,” he said.

    Other content customers are to look forward to this season include: popular local content shows on Africa Magic such as Ajoche, Forbidden and My Siblings & I; international telenovelas on Telemundo and Star Life as well as other general entertainment programming.

    DStv Now app customers will enjoy their favourite series, movies and sport highlights  up to five devices with one subscription. The app is available to subscribers at no extra cost and available for download on the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store.

     

  • DStv subscribers demand pay-as-you-view billing system

    Digital Satellite Television (DStv) service subscribers in Nigeria are grumbling over the continued payment for services not rendered by MultiChoice, the major distance-to-home service provider in Nigeria.

    In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday, DStv subscribers pleaded with the Federal Government to enact a law to compel MultiChoice to introduce “pay-as-you-view billing’’ system.

    The subscribers said that there was need for such billing system, as it would ensure value for subscription.

    Many of the subscribers complained of paying for what they did not get services for, saying that after several complaints, MultiChoice did not listen.

    Mr Uzochukwu Nwafor, a businessman said that MultiChoice was not considerate on how it was handling the issue of pay-as-you-view.

    “They need to put a regulation in place to help subscribers enjoy the money they paid to view the programmes.

    “With that (pay-as-you-view billing), we can save some money, I see subscribing to DStv programmes as a waste of money; it does not happen abroad or even in South Africa, ‘’ he said.

    Mr Silvanus Nwankwo, a civil servant, said that the National Assembly (NASS) was supposed to look into the operations of MultiChoice.

    “Many companies come to Nigeria and rip us off because our policies are not being implemented.

    “Again, DStv does not have serious competitors and that is why the company is behaving as it pleases.

    “The Pay-As-You-Go billing that telecommunications operators offer is supposed to be applicable to DStv,’’ he said.

    Nwankwo, however, said that the NASS should focus on the number of Nigerians that subscribed to the company’s service and insist on reducing prices of its bouquets.

    A Hip Hop Artiste, Ishmael Lawal, popularly known as ‘King Songo’ said that MultiChoice was defrauding Nigerians, as its decoder did not work properly.

    Lawal said that after subscription, he hardly watched the programmes because the signal was poor.

    He also said: “The company cuts off subscriptions two days before expiration, without warning.

    “Again, they keep repeating programmes, when one had paid to get new and trending programmes.’’

    Read Also: MultiChoice crashes DStv Explora price at Lagos fair

    A source at the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), who pleaded anonymity, said that the council had already taken MultiChoice to court over the issue.

    The source said that CPC received complaints from consumers against MultiChoice, among which was the refusal of the company to offer pay-as-you-view billing on both DStv and GOtv.

    The complaints included failure to receive signal after subscription paid; subscription disconnection prior to end of billing cycle with no credit applied for paid time lost; and lack of clarity in terms and conditions.

    Other complaints were: non-activation of free to air channels except when a consumer complained; and confusing toll-free customer care telephone channels.

    Others complaints were: arbitrary charges; confusing billing; blocking some channels already subscribed; poor picture or signal quality with excessive and un-compensated downtime during both inclement and clear weather conditions; and lack of responsiveness.

    Martin Maputo, the General Manager, Sales and Marketing, MultiChoice, said that for two months, the company would cut prices for its bouquets.

    Maputo said that MultiChoice wanted subscribers to enjoy the 2018 Christmas with their families, while enjoying music, food, movies, among others.

    According to him, this year’s Festive Together theme is: “It is a Good Time to Gather and There is no Place Like Home’’.

    “We want families to be together and watch different programmes on our DStv Sports, Wrestling, All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), Cross River Festivals, The Experience – a Church Programme with a lot of artistes playing.

    “Others are Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival, Children’s programmes and cartoons, Miss Africa Pageant and others.

    “We want to use all these again to help raise funds for the less-privileged people, because they have no one to help them,’’ Maputo said.

    Maputo said that the new prices for some bouquets are – HD premium normal from N11,900 to N9,900; GOtv from N6,900 to N3,200, Explora from N52,000 to N29,900 and the Premium is N38,000.

  • Books for MultiChoice Talent Factory Library

    MultiChoice Nigeria has received hundreds of books donated to the library of its newly launched MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Academy project. The books are expected to promote a healthy reading habit among students of the Academy.

    The most recent installment contains the 300 books donated by Mr. Emeka Mba, former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

    Explaining why he made the donation, Mr. Mba said MultiChoice, through the MTF project, had re-written the narrative of the creative industry by investing in the students of the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy. He advised students of the Academy on the importance of sharing knowledge.

    “Sharing ideas and knowledge is key and knowledge is the only thing that you share, and it grows. You cannot be a good lawyer if you don’t read cases. So, if you want to be a good filmmaker with impactful stories to tell, you have to read” he said.

    The books, which cover a vast range of subjects, including the Arts, biographies, autobiographies and contemporary novels, were not the only books donated to the MTF Academy. Many well-meaning individuals and industry bodies such as Committee for the Relevant Arts (CORA) donated 100 books, Lilian Amah, a movie producer and author, donated 10 copies of her newly published book and Professor Abraham Linus, a former Dean of Ghana’s National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), also donated two copies of his book on visual literacy.

    Receiving the books on behalf of the MTF from Mr. Mba, the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO), MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, commended the former NBC D-G for the kind gesture. He appealed to the MTF students to make good use of the opportunity presented by the books on a variety of subjects, to distil ideas from. According to the CEO, the ideas the students gain by cultivating good reading habits will enrich their repertoire of knowledge not just with the creative industry but beyond.

    The Academy Director MTF, Femi Odugbemi, urged the students to use their leisure time to gain knowledge, as this would add to their ‘ideas farm’.

    MultiChoice Talent Factory is the flagship Corporate Shared Value project of MultiChoice. The MTF Academy students will be provided with skillsets to develop their talent, connect with industry professionals and tell authentic African stories through a comprehensive curriculum comprising theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling.

  • MultiChoice crashes DStv Explora price at Lagos fair

    Multichoice Nigeria, is slashing the price of its DStv Explora bundle with one-month Compact subscription from N52,100 to N29,900 for customers who come to the 38th Lagos International Trade Fair.

    The trade fair which is billed to hold from Friday, 2 November to Sunday, 11 November 2018 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan will also see a reduction on the HD Decoder, dish, plus one-month compact subscription to N9,900.

    Speaking on the special offers, Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, said: “As a customer first organisation, our core aim is to improve our customers’ experience, whenever and wherever they engage with us.  The Lagos International Trade Fair is always a great opportunity for us to fulfill our brand promise of providing the best entertainment that will suit different lifestyles and pockets.”