Pay-TV group MultiChoice is appealing the $100 000 (150m Naira) penalty imposed by the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal over price increases.

MultiChoice was also ordered to allow customers a month of free viewing of its DStv and GOtv platforms.

In an interview with ITWeb, Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice group CEO, said: “We have appealed the ruling and now we should be able to see what comes out of that appeal.

“We believe strongly that the tribunal erred with coming with this ruling and we have also asked for a stay of execution, which means that the price increase which we have put in place continues and we don’t have to refund anybody.”

The Johannesburg-headquartered MultiChoice pioneered pay TV in Nigeria, launching the first digital satellite broadcasting service in 1993.

The company currently employs over 1 000 employees while indirectly supporting over 20 000 more jobs in Nigeria.

Africa’s most populous country remains one of MultiChoice’s key markets among the 50 countries where the company operates.