Multichoice has announced another increase in the prices of its DStv and GOtv packages, set to take effect from March 1, 2025.

The company revealed this in a statement to customers on Monday titled, “Price adjustment on DStv and GOtv packages” and signed by the CEO John Ugbe.

“Dear Customer, please note that effective 1 March 2025, there will be a price adjustment on all DStv packages.

“This is to enable us to continue to offer our customers world-class homegrown and international content, delivered through the best technology,” the statement read.

This latest adjustment comes nearly a year after the last price review.

According to the company, the new prices are as follows:

DStv Packages:

Compact: From N15,700 to N19,000

Compact Plus: From N24,500 to N30,000

Premium: From N29,500 to N44,500

GOtv Packages:

GOtv Value: From N3,600 to N3,900

GOtv Plus: From N4,850 to N5,800

GOtv Max: From N6,200 to N8,500

GOtv Supa: From N9,600 to N11,400

GOtv Supa Plus: From N13,500 to N16,800

Multichoice attributed the price increase to the rising cost of doing business in Nigeria.

The company cited factors such as currency depreciation and high inflation, which have significantly increased its operational expenses.

Nigerian businesses, while expressing optimism about the macroeconomic environment, have projected further depreciation of the naira this month and the first three months of 2025.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its Business Expectation Survey Report for November 2024.

The report, however, noted that firms’ outlook on volume of business activities, financial conditions, access to credit, volume of total order and average capacity utilization, were pessimistic.

It stated: “The overall confidence index (CI) on the macroeconomy indicated that businesses were optimistic in November 2024.

“Businesses expect the Naira to depreciate in the current month, next month and next 3 months but appreciate in the next 6 months.

“The optimism on business outlook in the current month is driven by the opinion of respondents from all the sectors.

“The Construction Sector expressed optimism on own operations in the review month.

“The outlook of respondents on the volume of business activities, the volume of total order, financial conditions, and access to credit were negative in the review month.

“Volume of business activity respondents expressed optimism on volume of business activity for the next month and subsequent periods under review.”

The report also showed that businesses hope to employ more workers in the month of December 2024 with the Agriculture sector having the highest prospect for expansion.

Meanwhile, the CBN in its latest Consumer Expectation Survey Report said that consumers were pessimistic about the macro economy in November.

According to CBN report, households projected a rise in the cost of transportation, rent, car/vehicle, house purchase, and medical expenses this month.

The report showed that 61.1 per cent and 57.6 per cent of respondents perceived that prices of non-durable and durable household items, though high, will keep declining this month and next month respectively.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday, threatened to impose fines on banks hoarding cash.

It said that the ongoing cash scarcity at Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and over the counter being witnessed across the country was embarrassing and unacceptable.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, spoke at the annual Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

There have been recent reports of cash shortages at banks, both at ATMs and over the counter.

Cardoso said: “We also recognise the ongoing challenges with cash availability at ATMs, which disproportionately affect ordinary Nigerians.

“To address this, we are conducting spot checks across deposit money banks, and we will impose penalties on underperforming institutions.

“Effective December 1, 2024, customers are encouraged to report any difficulties with withdrawing cash from bank branches or ATMs directly to the CBN through designated phone numbers and email addresses for their respective states.

“Guidelines will be distributed widely to raise public awareness. We will also urge full regulatory compliance by all stakeholders, including mobile money operators and POS agents, to promote digital transaction channels and improve service delivery.

“I repeat, financial institutions found engaging in malpractices or sabotage will face severe penalties.

“The CBN will continue to maintain a robust cash offering to meet the country’s needs, particularly during high-demand periods such as the festive season and year-end.”