Pay TV group MultiChoice is pulling out of Malawi with immediate effect after the high court in Lilongwe issued an injunction in a matter between the company and the regulator prohibiting an adjustment to DStv tariffs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, MultiChoice Africa, which houses the JSE-listed assets in the rest of the continent, said MultiChoice Malawi does not offer the DStv service to the public and therefore "cannot set or adjust tariffs for this service, a point repeatedly made to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority".
“As a result, the order handed down to MCM [MultiChoice Malawi] is incapable of being implemented by them but carries with it grave consequences for the directors and management of MultiChoice Malawi, including imprisonment,” it said.
Given the impact on MultiChoice Malawi and an “increasingly adverse regulatory environment [Multichoice Africa] is therefore left with no option but to terminate the DStv service indefinitely”.
The company has requested customers to halt payment for the DStv service. Those who have already paid their subscription fees will continue to receive services until the current 30-day viewing cycle ends on or before September 10.
From Wednesday no new subscriptions or reconnections will be accepted.
MultiChoice pulls out of Malawi with immediate effect
Image: 123RF/SIMPSON33
Pay TV group MultiChoice is pulling out of Malawi with immediate effect after the high court in Lilongwe issued an injunction in a matter between the company and the regulator prohibiting an adjustment to DStv tariffs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, MultiChoice Africa, which houses the JSE-listed assets in the rest of the continent, said MultiChoice Malawi does not offer the DStv service to the public and therefore "cannot set or adjust tariffs for this service, a point repeatedly made to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority".
“As a result, the order handed down to MCM [MultiChoice Malawi] is incapable of being implemented by them but carries with it grave consequences for the directors and management of MultiChoice Malawi, including imprisonment,” it said.
Given the impact on MultiChoice Malawi and an “increasingly adverse regulatory environment [Multichoice Africa] is therefore left with no option but to terminate the DStv service indefinitely”.
The company has requested customers to halt payment for the DStv service. Those who have already paid their subscription fees will continue to receive services until the current 30-day viewing cycle ends on or before September 10.
From Wednesday no new subscriptions or reconnections will be accepted.
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