Tomiwa Olonisakin
inflation. Businesses that heavily rely on foreign exchange, as pay television does, have been directly impacted by the steep slide in the value of the Naira. The costs of content acquisition and satellite, including that of up-linking free-to-air (FTA) channels have inevitably risen on account of the dire fortunes of the Naira against the Dollar. What shield does MultiChoice have against these costs? None. It is the same way every business within the same sector and outside of it is unprotected.
Those who run airlines, for example, keep adjusting prices. As at last year, a one-hour flight cost N50,000. The price is nudging N100,000 now.
Three years ago, a litre of diesel cost N224. By the first quarter of last year, it had jumped to N650 per litre, with the latest devaluation of the Naira pushing its price to N1,200 per litre. The country’s inflation has risen to double-digits since 2016, eroding incomes and savings of individuals and businesses.
There is no bigger victim of the cost-of-living crisis between the business and the consumer. MultiChoice, StarTimes and every other business that has increased rates or prices are simply responding the way businesses respond to prevailing macro and micro-economic conditions. Of course, those who run them know they could suffer reduced patronage. The alternative, not appealing, is to launch a subsidy regime. What business would do that when even the government scrapped its subsidy of petrol? None.
Olonisakin writes from Ibadan
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