Ghana’s pay-TV market is entering a new phase of competition, with MultiChoice Ghana’s latest subscription changes raising a critical question for the business: can lower prices bring back customers who have abandoned expensive television packages and turn affordability into a more sustainable source of revenue?
From November 5, 2026, the company will replace its six existing DStv subscription packages with four new options priced between GH¢50 and GH¢570 a month, marking a significant restructuring of its pricing strategy after months of pressure from consumers and the government.
The new Starter package, priced at GH¢50, offers 90 channels, while Select costs GH¢100 for 123 channels. Sports, designed for football enthusiasts, will cost GH¢250, while Ultimate, which includes premium sports and entertainment, will cost GH¢570. The changes reduce the cost of the previous Premium package from GH¢854 to GH¢570, a reduction of about 33 per cent. The full football offering will also become substantially cheaper.
For MultiChoice, the changes could represent more than a concession to public pressure. They offer an opportunity to test whether a lower entry price can expand the paying customer base, improve retention and ultimately strengthen subscription revenue.
The strategy reflects a familiar principle in business economics: when a product becomes unaffordable to a significant proportion of its potential market, reducing the price can sometimes generate greater returns by attracting more customers. However, the outcome depends on how many additional subscribers sign up, how many existing customers remain and how much revenue the company earns from each subscriber.
Ghana’s recent subscriber figures suggest there is considerable ground to recover. MultiChoice recorded a 17 per cent decline in active subscribers in Ghana in the 2024 financial year, followed by a further 12 per cent decline in FY2025. Although pricing is not the only factor behind subscriber losses, these figures demonstrate the scale of the challenge facing the company.
For households managing food, transport, electricity and school expenses, a premium television subscription competes with essential spending. Some customers may downgrade to cheaper packages, while others may cancel entirely, share access or turn to unauthorised alternatives. The new structure attempts to address that pressure by providing distinct options for different budgets and viewing preferences.
The government’s intervention has also been significant. In 2025, Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George demanded a 30 per cent reduction in subscription prices, arguing that affordability and differences between Ghanaian and Nigerian prices warranted intervention. The dispute escalated to a threat to suspend DStv’s broadcasting authorisation before negotiations produced an agreement focused on improving value for subscribers. The latest restructuring goes further by introducing substantially lower prices for key packages.
Cross-border subscriptions present another dimension of the problem. The Communications Ministry confirmed in October 2025 that discussions with MultiChoice had addressed the illegal importation of DStv decoders and services from Nigeria, citing lost tax revenue and harm to local jobs.
The economic incentive behind such arrangements is straightforward. Where consumers perceive substantial price differences between neighbouring markets, some may seek cheaper alternatives rather than pay for authorised Ghanaian subscriptions. There have also been reports of people pooling money to access Nigerian hotel packages. Such arrangements warrant investigation, particularly to establish their scale and implications for Ghana’s tax revenue, although their prevalence should not be assumed without evidence.
Piracy presents a related challenge. Illegal streaming services and unauthorised television boxes allow viewers to access content without paying rights holders. This threatens legitimate subscription income and the livelihoods of people across the creative industry. The government has consequently linked more affordable subscriptions with plans to strengthen enforcement against illegal streaming and so-called ghost boxes.
The ownership transition adds another dimension to DStv’s changing strategy. France’s Canal+ took effective control of MultiChoice in September 2025, bringing the African pay-TV business into a larger international media group. David Mignot, who previously led Canal+ Africa, became MultiChoice’s chief executive in September 2025, while Canal+ Group is led by Maxime Saada. The expanded group’s international reach and experience across subscription television markets make its approach to pricing and customer acquisition worth examining. Although the takeover’s influence on the latest Ghanaian price changes has not been independently established, the strategy raises an important question: whether a broader international operation can help MultiChoice balance affordability, subscriber growth and profitability.
Ultimately, the real test begins when the new packages take effect. MultiChoice must demonstrate that lower prices translate into subscriber growth, fewer cancellations and stronger revenue performance. It will also need to show whether cheaper legitimate access can persuade customers using unauthorised services to return to the formal market.
The central question is whether DStv can make affordability commercially sustainable. If lower prices bring enough customers back into the formal market, the company could discover that a larger paying audience is worth more than a smaller group paying premium rates. If they do not, the restructuring may offer welcome relief to consumers without fully resolving the deeper economics of pay television in Ghana.
