The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that Digital Switch Over (DSO) project will unlock Nigeria’s N605.2 billion advertising market through improved audience measurement systems.
Mrs Clementine Usman-Wamba, NBC Deputy Director of Public Affairs, said this during the South-West community engagement and training of installers for the DSO project in Ibadan at the weekend.
Usman-Wamba said the digital transition would also free the 700/800MHz spectrum band for future auctions that could generate more than one billion dollars in revenue.
She added that the spectrum is valued at more than 50 billion dollars, making the switch economically significant for the country.
According to her, Nigeria’s creative industry, contributing about N5 trillion to GDP and supporting over 4.2 million jobs, will benefit from improved distribution and export opportunities across West Africa.
She said analogue television transmission would be discontinued, urging viewers still using analogue signals to obtain digital decoders before the switchover.
Usman-Wamba explained that the Free TV platform would provide access to multiple television channels without subscription through digital decoders and satellite dishes.
She said the commission was training installers nationwide to support the DSO rollout in partnership with the Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat).
According to her, installers are critical to the success of the DSO because of the recently launched Direct-to-Home (DTH) service and mobile application.
She explained that households with Free TV decoders and dishes could receive signals by aligning them with NigComSat satellites.
Usman-Wamba said the installation process required technical expertise, making trained installers essential for connecting households to the Free TV platform.
Some installers commended the Federal Government and NBC for introducing the Free TV initiative and providing training opportunities.
They said the programme would create employment for youths while enabling low-income households to access multiple television channels without subscription.(NAN).
