The Head of Department, of the Economics Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Eric Fosu Oteng-Abayie, has questioned the much-celebrated deal between the Government of Ghana and MultiChoice Ghana, describing it as “a temporary fix that leaves the real problem untouched.”
In a detailed analysis titled “Beyond the Channel Upgrades: An Economic Analysis of the DStv Standoff in Ghana,” Prof. Oteng-Abayie argued that the government’s touted “victory” in securing more TV channels for subscribers at no extra cost does little to address the underlying market distortions and high tax burdens that keep pay-TV prices high.
“It is a temporary salve on a wound that requires more profound surgical intervention,” he stated.
According to him, while the new arrangement — which automatically upgrades subscribers to higher-tier bouquets effective October 1, 2025 — appears to benefit consumers, it also allows MultiChoice to protect its revenue base.
“This provides immediate gratification but deftly allows MultiChoice to protect its core revenue structure,” the economist explained. “A direct price reduction would have set a lower benchmark, potentially triggering similar demands across other African markets.”
Prof. Oteng-Abayie pointed out that the government’s position had economic merit, particularly because of the cedi’s strong performance this year. “The Ghanaian cedi appreciated by more than 40 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2025,” he noted, adding that, “in a perfectly competitive market, such currency strengthening should translate into lower costs for imported services and, consequently, lower prices for consumers. MultiChoice’s resistance, citing rising operational costs, underscores the reality of its monopolistic power.”
The KNUST economist emphasized that MultiChoice’s leverage lies not merely in its content offerings but in its exclusive broadcasting rights to the English Premier League, which give it unmatched control in the market. “Its primary leverage is not just content, but exclusive content — particularly the English Premier League (EPL), for which DStv holds broadcast rights across Sub-Saharan Africa. This exclusivity creates an inelastic demand curve among Ghanaian consumers; regardless of price, the appetite for live football remains relatively firm,” he stated. “Such inelasticity grants MultiChoice the power to set prices well above marginal cost with minimal subscriber loss.”
He argued that the entire standoff and the compromise reached expose deeper structural and fiscal weaknesses in Ghana’s policy environment. “Any thorough economic analysis must look beyond the corporate entity to the fiscal environment in which it operates,” Prof. Oteng-Abayie stated. “The public debate has largely ignored a critical variable: the significant tax burden imposed by the state itself.”
Breaking down the numbers, he revealed that “the total tax load on a DStv subscription in Ghana is about 28 percent,” made up of “Value Added Tax (VAT): 15 percent; National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL): 2.5 percent; GETFund Levy: 2.5 percent; Communication Service Tax (CST): 5 percent; and other minor levies of approximately 3 percent.”
He drew a sharp contrast between Ghana and Nigeria, where DStv subscribers pay only 7.5 percent VAT. “Such fiscal policy directly contributes to high final consumer costs,” he said. “The industry regulator’s aggressive posture toward MultiChoice — while simultaneously being a primary beneficiary of the subscription revenue through taxes — presents a clear contradiction. If the goal is genuine affordability, the most direct lever available to policymakers is a review of their own tax impositions on pay-TV services.”
Prof. Oteng-Abayie also criticized the confrontational approach adopted by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, describing it as a “high-stakes game of regulatory chicken.” Referring to the Minister’s ₵10,000 daily fines on MultiChoice for non-compliance and the threats of licence suspension, he warned that “while this approach forced a short-term concession, such tactics risk sending negative signals to investors if perceived as arbitrary or populist.”
He noted that the entire episode quickly took on political undertones, observing that “the subsequent political fallout, with opposition MPs branding the move ‘heavy-handed’ and government allies defending it as ‘decisive,’ demonstrates how regulatory enforcement can be entangled in partisan politics.” Prof. Oteng-Abayie cautioned that “the DStv saga ultimately became a political football, a spectacle that risks obscuring the underlying economic principles.”
He further revealed that the so-called “value upgrade” arrangement is not a fixed-term price adjustment but a three-month trial subject to stakeholder review. “The current value offer is subject to a three-month stakeholder review — not a fixed-term promotion, but a period for assessment and adjustment,” he wrote. “For a more sustainable outcome, the government’s priority should be fostering market competition, rationalising the tax regime, and pursuing structural reforms that shield consumers from exchange-rate volatility.”
In what he described as a prescription for long-term relief, the KNUST economist stated that “true consumer welfare is measured not by the number of channels, but by the fairness and affordability of prices in a market where competition is genuine and fiscal policy is coherent.”
Prof. Oteng-Abayie concluded his analysis with a sharp warning to policymakers: “The DStv compromise is, at best, a pyrrhic victory — a short-term political win and psychological relief for consumers, but one that leaves the fundamental market distortions untouched. Until the twin issues of market concentration and tax overburden are addressed, Ghanaian consumers will continue to operate in a pay-TV environment that does not fully work in their favour.”
The DStv–government standoff dominated national headlines throughout September, with media outlets such as JoyNews, Citi Business News and Graphic Online describing it as one of the most intense regulatory showdowns in recent memory. The government hailed the outcome as “a victory for Ghanaian consumers.”
Read Prof. Oteng Abayie’s full article below:
