Zambians boycott high DSTV rates using social media

After the announcement was made to the public, numerous people have taken to social media, using Facebook and Twitter to air what they call "abuse", complaining that they are being taken advantage off.

The new DSTV Zambia subscription fees will see the premium bouquet increase from K500 ($67) to K631 ($86), with an additional K79 ($10) for PVR access fee (previously K60 or $8).

DSTV has cited that the upward adjustment is necessary due to the depreciation of the Kwacha which the company uses as a benchmark to determine the local prices.

In protest subscribers have launched a social media campaign called "Zambians Against High DSTV Rates", calling for people to sign a petition for the standardisation of rates and not to pay their DSTV bills in April. Currently there are 2300 people signed up.

At present the Facebook page has accumulated 4500 likes since its creation on 12 March and the numbers keep steadily increasing.

TBWA Vox Africa says it will be interesting to see if the aggrieved subscribers stick to their word and don't actually pay for the services for April. Equally intriguing will be how DSTV reacts to this public pressure and if the industry bodies will weigh-in to resolve things.