The coming of Daarsat through DAAR Communications Plc has certainly caused a revolution in Pay TV structure in Nigeria.
With over 50 exciting channels and more still coming on board, Daarsat has proved that Pay TV needs not be priced out of reach of all Nigerians, who desire to own pay television irrespective of status or location.
Apart from offering the lowest subscription price in the Pay TV market, Daarsat is also offering features and freebies all the competitors combined have never offered Nigerians since they entered the satellite TV market, which is one of the unique selling points of the brand. One issue that has remained touchy in Nigeria’s Pay TV structure is subscription fee, but knowing fully well that Nigerians deserve better and more for less and shouldn’t be restricted in the number of channels they should have access to, Daarsat Pay TV is offering just one package, but packed with marvelous channels (more than 50 channels with more coming on board).
At N39, 900 for the decoder and dish and just N5,500 monthly subscription, Daarsat is offering the cheapest subscription tariff in the Pay TV market.
Tunde Gafar, who works in a bank situated on Allen Avenue, disclosed that, the coming of Daarsat will allow Nigerians the opportunity of choosing.
According to him, the era of limitation has passed. "I think we have passed the era whereby Nigerians are forced to pay high fees for pay TV which should’t be. On several occasions, l have had cause to question the rationale behind the high fees and the different bouquet offered by companies offering the service. As far as l am concerned they are just exploiting us in this country and l also think there are people in government who invested in the business, which is why nobody is calling them to order".
Taiwo Kareem, a business man, based in Lagos was also full of praises for Daarsat. According to him, pay TV is not a luxury that should be enjoyed by the rich and the middle class alone, because first and foremost communication is very important, therefore Nigerians should not be deprived on information.
Kareem also dwell on the need for government to look into the operations of the existing pay TV companies with a view to curtailing exploitation. "The advent of Daarsat into the business has further opened our eyes to the fact that for so many years, we are been exploited by pay TV operators who charge high connection and subscription fees. The lesson to be learnt from this scenario is that, we as a nation should not allow foreign companies to come in and exploit our people".
In addition to getting all these, subscribers will also get an extra one month subscription on first three month subscriptions. It is instructive to note that the same HD package is being offered in South Africa by a Pay TV brand for $1,000 which then makes the Daarsat offer the cheapest in Africa by any standard.
While competitors back home are offering their services on the Standard Definition format, Daarsat TV is offering the latest MPEG 4 High Definition decoders which will not require replacement as other MPEG 2 systems will.
In addition, the decoder comes with an Integrated Decoder Television (IDTV) – built-in satellite decoder, capable of receiving digital terrestrial transmissions and analog transmission (current terrestrial transmission standard in Nigeria).
The decoder also comes with two HDMI inputs as well as RCA (phone) input. This technology it should be noted is currently being adapted in some parts of Europe, USA, Asia and Middle East.
Higher Definition (HD) TV offers picture quality with four times more detail than Standard Definition (SD) TV, delivering stunning images, vibrant colours and incredible depth. It’s the ultimate way to watch your favourite movies, sporting events and other television programming, and it’s going to blow you away. The HD Ready Daarsat Television and Decoder are developed and built to the highest quality standards in addition to the innovative and exciting features that come with the appliances
Customer relation is another area where the Daarsat Pay TV scores another excellent mark. In addition to the numerous freebies that is coming with the decoder package, every subscriber will get a free Visafone mobile phone on the DAARSAT Virtual Private Network (VPN) which will enable them communicate with Daarsat customer care executives without being charged. This is another of the many firsts from Daarsat.
This according to Abiodun Adenubi, a sales manager with Eastland Resources Limited, manufacturers of Slakers table water, is unprecedented in this part of the world.
"In an environment where customers are not king like ours, Daarsat has done something remarkable that is worthy of emulation. We have seen instances where customers are even asked to pay to get across to service providers and when you are not paying, such companies will delay you unnecessarily before attending to you," she concludes.
For those who want more, Daarsat is also offering an LCD television plus decoder. This package comes in two folds. The first is a 32 inch customised Daarsat HD Ready TV plus a HD decoder at just N240, 000 and a 42-inch customised Daarsat HD Ready TV and decoder plus a decoder at only N340,000. This first of its kind offer also comes with all the freebies being offered by Daarsat Pay TV. Here, Biola Faderin, a computer engineer with Vandyke Technologies, feels Daarsat been an indigenous company has shown that the company is customer centric. This core value, according to him, projects Daarsat as a responsible company that has come not only to do business and make money but also understand the feeling of its customers.