Nigeria “100% digital by year end”
November 24, 2015
By Chris Forrester
Nigeria is looking to fully embrace digital TV and to use the growth in channels to springboard a “vibrant media economy”.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, speaking in Lagos on November 21st, said the nation’s TV coverage would be 100 per cent digital by the end of next year, up from 49 per cent at the end of 2013.
“We pledge our commitment to building a vibrant TV and Media Economy for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said, adding that the country will use the Digital Switch Over as an opportunity to diversify the provision of channels and content. “
Buhari praised the work of local production and broadcasting conglomerate Silverbird. “Nigeria will be the largest DTT nation in Africa in 2020, both for FTA – that is 9.07 million – and for pay, that is 3.59 million. As Silverbird seeks to deliver exceptional family entertainment to this important growth market, it will need to adjust its models to suit the market conditions to achieve the objective of maximising the reach of the Silverbird Channel in the Nigerian market, and that it will have to do through a Free to Air model. The target markets for FTA are the 26-million-plus TV households, and the growth of DTT in Nigeria is accelerating much faster than the growth in the pay-TV market,’’ the President said.