Every year on 1 April, MultiChoice announces its annual subscription price increase on both DStv and GOtv.

However, this year MultiChoice Africa has promised there will be no price increase for subscribers on its DStv and GOtv platforms in 2017 despite the economic challenges and increasing competition from VoD platforms such as Netflix, ShowMax, Able Wireless and iPidi and YouTube TV.

“The company made this decision to keep annual subscription prices at their current level, despite a particularly tough year it has faced due to a number of harsh macro-economic headwinds in the markets it operates in on the continent,”said Philip Wahome, MultiChoice Kenya, Corporate Affairs Manager.

According to the firm, falling commodity and oil prices have affected economies and exchange rates and the ever-rising costs of satellite capacity among other external economic factors have been a challenge to the firm; even so to its customers.

“We recognize that we’re not the only ones feeling the pinch,” Wahome added.“Our valued customers are also suffering so we want to do our bit to relieve the added financial pressure by not increasing the price of their annual subscriptions.”

Though the firm recently added the FA Cup, to all DStv packages along with Big Brother Naija, which is available across all DStv packages and the recently-launched James Bond Pop-Up channel, DStv is not without competition.

GOtv also added the FA Cup season to GOtv Plus last month, GOtgetters on GOtv Plus, telenovelas on Telemundo, the 2017 award season glitz and glam coverage on E! Entertainment among others.