Lawyer Issues 30-Day Ultimatum to DSTV, GOTV Over Subscription

Multi-choice communications have been issued a 30-day ultimatum to regulate DSTV and GOTV to read only during viewing or face court action.

An activist lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam who gave the warning, threatened to institute legal action against Multi-Choice and other television networks if they failed to resort to ‘read-only during viewing’.

The lawyer said Multi-Choice and other satellite stations were exploiting their subscribers by disconnecting them once their subscription ends whether they use it or not.

He wondered why Multi-Choice and other satellite stations fail to roll over subscriptions not used.

According to Idam: “Pre-action Notice, I find it oppressive and exploitative for Multi-Choice to disconnect subscribers of DSTV and GOTV at the end of every subscription period, whether or not customers ever used their subscription.

“Totally unacceptable is that they direct their designated agents to phone customers and demand them to renew their subscription or stand disconnected, even when the same was never in use during the subscription period.

“More exploitative is the fact that DSTV, GOTV and indeed all the digital satellite providers in Nigeria, do not indicate how they arrive at their billing, nor do they roll over subscriptions that were not in use. Hence, subjecting users to arbitrary and unfair charges.

“Based on the foregoing, I issued DSTV and GOTV and indeed all the digital satellite providers, thirty (30) days to regulate their television network to read only during viewing. Failure to do so, I shall immediately take action against Multi-Choice TV and every other Television Network in Nigeria.”

Kazeem Badmus