Pay TV subscribers get rewarded

Subscribers to MultiChoice Uganda's DStv received twin offers from the company last week when it announced a 10% discount on monthly subscription for current customers who make payments for the pay TV service before it expires. Monthly subscription for DStv's bouquets range between $20 (Ugx52 000) for 50 channels and $80 (Ugx208 000) for over 100 premium channels.

Announcing the benefit in Kampala, Charles Hamya, general manager at MultiChoice Uganda said, "Customers who do so will get a 10% rebate on the subsequent month's payment and that continues as long as the cycle is unbroken."

This means that DStv subscribers have an opportunity to pay less than they were previously paying for the service and save up to Ugx230 000 per year. Hamya noted that the initiative is part of a loyalty campaign aimed at rewarding customers support for the MultiChoice brand and its service.

Discounted decoders offered

In addition, MultiChoice has offered its customers new decoders at a discount to enable them revel in viewing multiple channels on two television sets via a single dish. This means that existing customers will acquire new kits at Ugx199 000 as new subscribers pay Ugx349 000 for each fully connect set.

In the same effort, the company slashed the prices of its High Definition, Pause View and Rewind (HDPVR) decoders which are targeted to high end customers. To maintain its market share and bring on board more customers, Chinese owned StarTimes also slashed the price of its decoders by 16.7% to Ugx50 000 from Ugx60 000, for 54 channels.

Affordable service providers

At the new rate, StarTimes remains the most affordable digital Pay TV services provider in the market although customer queries about the quality of its service emerge in the media on a regular basis. The company boasts about 150 000 customers in various parts of the country.

Besides MultiChoice and StarTimes, Zuku TV, the Kenyan-based broadcaster with operations in Uganda also announced a promotion dubbed Zuku Reward aimed at boosting its festive sales.

Instead of slashing prices, the company is wooing its customers with free 22" and 42" flat screen television sets as rewards for current customers who can help it increase its sales by getting their friends to join the Zuku family.

While the MultiChoice and StarTimes offers stand out as good bets to increase customer numbers and revenue. Zuku's tactic might be a hard sell to many customers because they already own TV sets.