igital television is
not altogether a
new service in
Nigeria; in fact, the
South African-
based Multichoice
DStv pay DTH
platform has been in operation
since early 2000 providing digital
TV services across Africa and into
Nigeria. However, this service is
essentially limited to the rich and
upper middle class homes. What
digital terrestrial TV migration
offers however is a major realignment
of the TV industry; one which to a
large extent is disruptive as it
changes the already existing
industry value chain, as it
distinguishes between content and
distribution infrastructure, and
dispenses with the notion of
scarcity to a large extent.
EVOLUTIONARY
A lot has been said about the
transition to digital being
disruptive, but not a lot of thought
has been given to the fact that
digital is also fundamentally
evolutionary. Its impact will
inevitably continue to shape
developments and the growth
trajectory of the broadcasting
industry, worldwide. For us in
Nigeria, the disruption that digital
brings is complicated by the fact
that Nigeria has one of the most
active and diverse broadcasting
industries in Africa, indeed I might
hazard, even in the world.
Consider that in Nigeria, we
have over 400 radio and TV
stations, made up of 244 free to air
(FTA) TV stations, with incredible
diversity of ownership spanning
Federal Government, state
governments, private commercial
enterprise. This obviously makes
the disruption a tad complicated.
Clearly, the advent of digital
means that the Nigerian TV
In this article Emeka Mba, Director General of Nigeria’s National Broadcasting
Commission (NBC) outlines the steps taken so far on the road to switchover, and the
objectives that guide the NBC’s philosophy of what digital broadcasting means and
how the country intends to take advantage of it
D
industry is in the midst of a
dramatic transformation, and with
the current interventions necessary
to entrench digital, the pieces of the
future are currently scattered across
the diverse broadcast industry
landscape, and the NBC is
essentially using the toolkit of
engagement and legal and
regulatory frameworks to bring the
pieces all together again.
Meeting the DSO deadline of
June 17th, 2015, is – to use a once
popular phrase in Nigeria – a task
that must be done. Nigeria has no
choice but to transit with the rest of
the world in order to avoid remaining
in digital darkness. However, there
is no doubt of the enormity of the
challenges ahead, and there are
reasonable fears that Nigeria and a
host of other African countries may
not meet the ITU imposed 2015
deadline. We are focused on doing
all that we can, given the resources
available, to meet that goal.
18
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ISSUE 2 2014
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THE CHANNEL
Nigeria
has one of
the most
active and
diverse
broad-
casting
industries
in Africa
“
”
THEDSOOPPORTUNITY
