The latest Economic Impact Assessment report by Deloitte shows that MultiChoice Group made a significant contribution to Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), estimated at over USD 200 million between 2011 and 2015.

The report says the Pay TV Company contributed $65.5 million to the Zambian GDP in 2014/15 financial year alone, amounting to 0.2 percent of the total national GDP.

“Between 2011/12 and 2014/15 this amounted to a total of $201.2 million,” reads the report in part.

This estimate consists of the impacts resulting from the MultiChoice Pay TV Group’s spend in terms of wages, taxes, and dividend payments, as well as its expenditures in the supply chain, and the ripple effects resulting from additional demand created in the economy through MultiChoice Pay TV Group’s expenditure in Zambia.

During the 2014/15 financial year, MultiChoice made a direct contribution of $35.9 million to the Zambian GDP in form of taxes, wages and profits paid into the economy.

“The majority of this impact is made up of tax payments made by MultiChoice Pay TV Group to the Zambian government, amounting to $26.2 million in 2014/15,” says the Deloitte report, adding that these consist of VAT payments, corporate tax and import duty payments and have more than doubled since 2011/12.

MultiChoice Zambia Group also paid wages of $5.3 million in 2014/15 to its more than 190 direct employees and contractors.

“The direct impact further includes dividend payments to MultiChoice Zambia Group’s shareholder ZNBC, which amounted to $4.4 million in 2014/15, an almost 50 percent increase from the 2011/12 level of $3.1 million,” reads the report.

Over the last six years since June 2009, total dividend payments of $20.1 million were made to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.

“The dividend payments earned from MultiChoice Zambia, make up around 20-23 percent of ZNBC’s revenues,” says the Deloitte report.

In other areas of the economy, MultiChoice PayTV Group spent an aggregate of $16.7 million in 2014/15 in its supply chain, which has more than doubled since 2011/12.

The report further says MultiChoice Pay TV Group has contributed to the process of digitalization and digital switchover through its investment in the digitalization of broadcasting services.

“The GOtv service is provided using the DTT network which was rolled out in partnership with ZNBC across ten locations in Zambia with further locations planned for the near future,” says the report.

MultiChoice supplies 67 out of ZNBC’s 69 analogue transmitter sites with signal, using its satellite network to rebroadcast ZNBC’s channels to ZNBC transmission sites across the country.

MultiChoice also provides live television streaming services on phone, tablet or computer