FCCPC Boss, Tunde Irukera Explains Why Pay-As-You-Go Is Not Applicable To PayTV
In a detailed analysis with Channels TV Sunrise Daily on Friday, July 10, the Chief Executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (FCCPC), Tunde Irukera has explained why the demand for pay-as-you-go is not a realistic approach for PayTV in Nigeria.
The Consumer Protection Commission boss is the first leader from any Federal Government agency to take an unbiased stand on the issue since it became a public concern in the past few weeks. Irukera, during a chat on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said that it is difficult for PayTV service providers to charge subscribers per view as the cost of creating content is fixed and the subscribers only pay for access to those content.
“Pay per view is not that you pay for what you view from the standpoint of when you turn your television on. It is primarily that there are certain programs like boxing match, soccer match or some movies that are still in the cinemas, but that some of the PayTV operators have bought the content and you can literally request instead of going to a stadium or going to the cinemas to watch – you can watch it in your home and pay for that view. That’s pay-per-view, but we confuse it with pay-as-you-go,” he said.
“What people are asking for in pay-as-you-go is when you turn on your television and you’re watching, you pay. When you turn off your television and you’re not watching, you don’t pay.”
“It’s difficult because the content has been created. What you’re paying for is access. How you use the access is entirely discretionary and is up to you. Quite unlike telephone, where the clock starts and the airtime goes down, you’ve paid for content.”
Irukera’s explanation has been the most objective and clear understanding of the issue so far. Since the debate about the PayTV industry began a few weeks ago, the discussion has seen many individuals use untruths and show a lack of understanding of the issues in their arguments and actions against PayTV operators in Nigeria.
DSTV has been on the receiving end of most of the negative attacks despite being the highest contributor to the local creative industry in Nigeria.
The PayTV operator and its counterparts who have been struggling to stay profitable amid dwindling economic situations occasioned by the devaluation of the Naira and the current COVID-19 pandemic have been at the mercy of unrealistic regulations and false accusations of profiteering.
The argument which erroneously implies that Nigerians are paying too much for PayTV subscriptions has even gotten a loud voice in the person of Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture.
Back in October 2019, Mohammed revealed that he had inaugurated the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Reform Implementation Committee that will implement reforms to end monopoly within the sector. The committee was tasked with also reviewing the NBC code, which was eventually presented as the 6th edition of the NBC code in May 2020. The new code had many inconsistencies that divided opinions in many heated debates across the country.
The controversial NBC Code seeks, among many other regulations, to make content exclusivity illegal in the country, thereby forcing content right holders to sublicense the content to even their competitors. Many stakeholders and creative industry professionals have condemned the new code for being detrimental to the industry it seeks to protect.
While some Nigerians criticized the new code, others used the opportunity to also demand the introduction of pay-as-you-go for PayTV.
However, the consumer protection chief executive says that after studying global best practices regarding the pay-as-you-go subscription model, it is quite different from what Nigerians believe it to be, and definitely not feasible for the PayTV market in the country.
