Bright Simons Questions Policy Rationale Behind Communications Minister’s Demand for 30% DSTV Price Cut

Bright Simons Questions Policy Rationale Behind Communications Minister’s Demand for 30% DSTV Price Cut

Renowned public policy analyst and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has weighed in on the ongoing impasse between Ghana’s Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Samuel Nartey George, and Pay-TV giant MultiChoice, operators of DSTV.

The standoff follows the Minister’s demand for MultiChoice to slash prices for its DSTV subscription packages by 30%—a directive the South African-based broadcaster is resisting.

In a detailed commentary shared on social media, Mr Simons highlighted significant policy and regulatory gaps in the Minister’s approach, questioning the basis for the proposed price reduction and the absence of a formal investigation into DSTV’s pricing structure.

Lack of transparency and policy framework

According to Mr Simons, the Minister has yet to make public any policy paper or analytical framework to justify the 30% reduction. “For some reason, the Minister hasn’t actually shared any kind of policy paper or even a detailed appendix along his unpublished written directive to the regulator, NCA,” he said.

He noted that in most jurisdictions, such policy directives are typically preceded by competition inquiries or formal consultations involving stakeholders, including consumers, operators, and regulators.

“Every serious country nowadays grants regulators the power to act against price gouging in markets prone to monopoly power. But ministerial actions must be policy-driven. Regulators handle the operational matters,” Simons added.

DSTV vs GoTV: Pricing disparity and market focus

While the Minister’s concerns centre on DSTV, MultiChoice also operates the lower-tier GoTV platform in Ghana. DSTV packages in Ghana range from $5.60 to $84.20 per month, using government exchange rate benchmarks. In contrast, GoTV’s most expensive package is just over $11.

Mr Simons pointed out that DSTV, being the company’s premium product line, caters to a niche segment—less than 14% of MultiChoice’s customers across Africa.

Missing market data and flawed comparisons

The policy analyst criticised the use of population size to compare DSTV pricing across African countries. “What [the Minister] should be comparing are subscriber numbers. The population of a country does not define even the addressable market for a company, much less the actual customer base,” he said.

Referencing internal figures, Mr Simons noted that although MultiChoice claims to have sold over one million decoders in Ghana since the 1990s, active subscriber numbers may be closer to 500,000 due to attrition.

Interestingly, Angola and Zambia—despite having smaller populations—generate more revenue for MultiChoice than Ghana, further challenging the relevance of using population as a benchmark.

Profit margins and unanswered questions

Mr Simons questioned whether MultiChoice’s Ghana operations generate enough profit to accommodate a 30% price cut. “For Multichoice to afford a 30% cut in revenues, its profit margin must be significantly higher than 30%. It has a group trading margin of just about 14%,” he noted, calling for margin analysis to be made public.

He added that MultiChoice’s disclosed GDP contribution in Ghana has declined sharply, from $41 million annually in the 2015–2018 period to below $9 million in recent years.

Local ownership and regulatory implications

Mr Simons also highlighted that MultiChoice Ghana is partly locally owned, with the Darko family of the defunct Hitech entity holding shares and occupying board leadership positions. He suggested that this complicates the government’s approach, particularly with MultiChoice reportedly urging the Minister to focus on local value retention rather than pricing.

He further questioned why DSTV alone is being targeted when other PayTV players—including StarTimes, GoTV, and Homebase—also operate in Ghana’s digital television market. Notably, StarTimes offers similar bouquet models, with its highest-end package costing just 25% of DSTV’s premium price but loaded with less popular Chinese content.

Call for thorough policy process

Mr Simons warned that, absent a full competition inquiry, the Minister’s directive could backfire. “For a proper competition abuse inquiry, the Minister would need to show that Multichoice’s DSTV offerings are substantially similar to those of others like StarTimes but it has used abusive price techniques to build a monopoly,” he stated.

He called for fact-based policymaking rather than politically expedient decisions. “WHAT the people want (in this case, lower PayTV prices) would always be driven by politics. But HOW to respond is a policy matter.”

Implications for regulatory oversight

He concluded by posing critical questions about the powers of the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Electronic Communications Tribunal in enforcing or contesting such directives.

“What happens if the real situation is that Multichoice genuinely can’t cut prices by 30%? Does NCA have the power to unilaterally revoke a license based on a Minister’s fiat without a full inquiry?”

Mr Simons’ intervention has added a layer of technical scrutiny to the high-profile standoff, and may trigger calls for a more structured and transparent approach to digital media regulation in Ghana.