Why More is Never Enough on DStv
Human beings are creatures of habit and over time, we find ourselves repeatedly doing the same things. There is a particular way we like our food to be presented; we are comfortable shopping at particular stores; and there might be several routes to get home but we find ourselves taking a particular route home every day. This tendency to box oneself in also affects the way we watch television.
If you take a random survey among close family and friends that watch DStv, you will find out that most of them watch fewer than ten channels. Africa Magic, Telemundo, SuperSport, CNN, Nickelodeon and Discovery top the list for most households. Despite this reality, subscribers continually chastise MultiChoice stating that there isn’t enough to watch on DStv.
In reaction to the recent subscription increase across all its bouquets, some argued that MultiChoice has not added any new channels to warrant a price hike. Depending on the DStv bouquet you choose, you can access between 40 and 120 channels. So, are the complaints justified?
During the last quarter of 2014, MultiChoice gave its kiddies programming a boost with the addition of Nicktoons and Nick Jr to complement Nickelodeon. Shortly after, M-net Edge, Vuzu Amp and Maisha Magic were launched.
The launch of Nicktoon and Nick Jr was highly publicised with a “Dora the Explorer” meet-and-greet which held at the MultiChoice head office in Lagos. Subsequently, MultiChoice partnered with the channels’ provider, Viacom International, to host “Nickmass - 30 Days of Christmas with Nickelodeon and DStv”. Throughout the month of December, children were invited to visit the DStv/ Nickelodeon grotto at the Silverbird Galleria and receive gifts.
In 2013, MultiChoice launched Telemundo, a 24-hour telenovela channel on its platforms. In no time, it caught-on like wildfire and DStv’s female audiences praised MultiChoice saying that it had certainly struck a chord. Telemundo kept women (and some men) glued to their television screens until February this year when Zee World, a Bollywood channel, debuted on DStv.
Today, Zee World is the rave of the moment among female folk. From the aforementioned, it suffices to say that more is never enough on DStv because Nigerians tend to have a liking for new things, and an inclination to quickly discard the old for the new.
Since the launch of Zee World, several other channels have been added to DStv’s bouquets. Among these are Africa Magic Igbo, Arise News, BET2, Eva, another telenovela channel; M-City and ITV Choice, which launched on 5 May.
John Ugbe, Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, explained that the company does not look at its audiences as one, and so, it offers a wide variety of programmes that cater to different viewing tastes and preferences.
“At MultiChoice, we are satisfying our viewing audience one segment at a time. We look at our customers as individuals with special entertainment needs and group them into segments. If you are interested in football for instance, the DStv Premium and Compact Plus bouquets see you watching major sporting events”, he said.
He explained further that MultiChoice invests significantly in research in a bid to understand the viewing preferences of its subscribers. Insights from research form the basis for deciding the channels which make up a bouquet.
“From research, we discovered that DStv Compact subscribers love series, drama, news, documentaries and music. Based on this insight, M-city was especially launched to embody the Compact bouquet while enhancing the offering. The channel is renowned for highly-rated series such as CSI, Chicago PD, Last Man Standing and the Mentalist”, Ugbe highlighted.
At a recent event held in Enugu to celebrate the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, the regional director, M-Net (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “Africa Magic is renowned for providing entertainment made for Africa by Africans. We are renowned for telling the African story, and giving African entertainers a platform to show the world what they can do. We have demonstrated this with our channels, including the indigenous language channels which continue to promote the richness of Nigeria’s different cultures beyond the nation’s borders and we are continuing this trend with the Africa Magic Igbo channel.”
The popular line by Africa Magic, “Made for Africa by Africans” further substantiates MultiChoice claim to providing targeted programming. “Made for Africa by Africans” has been expressed through the creation of indigenous channels including Africa Magic Yoruba, Africa Magic Hausa and AfricaMagic Igbo. Africa Magic Family which showcases sitcoms, soaps and magazine shows fit for family viewing also appears to have been packaged in line with this strategy.
While MultiChoice has been recently faced with a backlash for its increase in subscriptions and might be fraught with complaints regarding poor customer service, the company must be credited for leading in technological innovation in Nigeria’s broadcast industry.
One of its many innovations is the DStv Explora launched last year. At launch, the device came with the Catch Up service. A few months on, the BoxOffice feature was also added to the Explora.
DStv Catch Up is a video on demand service, exclusively available to DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact customers at no additional cost. It enables subscribers catch up with the week’s best programming at their convenience. With 20 hours of series, movies and sporting highlights on the Explora, it allows subscribers the freedom to watch selected programmes when it suits them within seven days after live broadcast on DStv.
Channels like the Animal Planet, Food Channel, Fashion TV and Travel Channel may not be touted by the man on the street as his favourites; they exist on the DStv platform because they are attracting eyeballs and allude to the ample content on the pay-TV platform.
John Ugbe encourages subscribers to explore more channels to adequately exploit the content at their disposal, adding that the Catch Up services makes it easy to do so.
“There are so many series on Catch Up that you may not stumble upon because you restrict yourself to watching a handful of channels. The Catch Up service stacks up such loads of them. When in search of something new and exciting to watch, press the blue button and you will be amazed at the amount of content available to you”.
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