DSTV lose 288,000 Subscribers in 2016

Premium Pay Television provider DSTV owned by Multichoice is reported to have lost a massive 288,000 subscribers. NASPERS Ltd which is seeking to further boost its international internet business as it grapples with the falling PayTV subscription numbers in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company, which usually spends half a billion dollars a year on acquisitions, is “on the lookout” for more deals according to Chief Executive Officer Bob Van Dijk in a phone interview on Saturday, without giving further information on potential targets.

Naspers, Africa’s biggest company by market value, said on Friday that adjusted net income—its main measure of profit—rose 21% to $1.2 billion in the 12 months through March.

Naspers has benefited from an early investment in Chinese digital media company Tencent Holdings Ltd, in which it owns a 34% stake. It also owns Africa’s biggest pay-TV network, DSTV.

The pay-TV business has been struggling, with subscription numbers falling by 288,000 in 2016. “We have also lost a lot of subscribers in the last year in sub-Saharan Africa, people have just not been able to afford it,” Van Dijk said.

“We bill in local currencies, but our costs are in dollars. It is quite painful when the currencies are running in the wrong direction.” The company has frozen prices and says it expects a difficult few years in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: MGAfrica