By Chizoba Ogbeche
Abuja
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the pilot roll-out of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, known as the Digital Switch Over (DSO), as “a revolution in broadcasting.”
Speaking at a press conference on the pilot roll-out of the DSO yesterday in Abuja, he said “after six months of uncommon commitment and dedication by the stakeholders, we finally switched on digital broadcasting in the city of Jos, which was chosen for the pilot scheme.”
He said: “The DSO roll-out last Saturday was nothing short of a revolution in broadcasting. The DSO is an evolving media landscape that affects us all and how we receive, watch, monetise and develop television and production going forward.
Therefore, what happened in Jos, at the weekend, is momentous, the dawn of a new era for government, TV channels, producers, and advertisers and, most importantly, the Nigerian TV customer.”
“For television stations, this will mean a whole new experience, as they will no longer need to worry about signal transmission, thus paying more attention to content.
“For content providers, this is boom time, as the demand for content will skyrocket, thus allowing our youth to give vent to their creativity. For viewers, there will be a harvest of channels. The Jos residents who have already acquired the Set-Top Boxes (STBs) as part of the pilot roll-out on Saturday are now watching 15 channels without subscription.
“All the 15 channels provide high-resolution pictures and hi fidelity sound. When we fully transit to digital, over 30 TV channels will be watched by over 30 million viewers, making Nigeria one of the biggest markets for free-to-air TV in the world.”
Continuing, he said: “Unlike the analogue broadcasting, the digital broadcasting technology is not limited to the delivery of television programmes only. Value added and interactive services such as Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), television shopping, weather forecasts, electronic newspapers, etc, can also be accessed on the television set by the viewer, ushering in a new television viewing experience.
“The viewer can also access information on government policies and programmes without going on the Internet. Through the EPG we are providing, real time information will be brought to every home from public service announcements to advertising and to news services, all at the touch of a button.”
“In terms of the economy, all licensed STB manufacturers have been mandated to establish manufacturing companies in Nigeria to produce the boxes locally, after importing the first set of boxes.
This will create massive employment and also ensure the transfer of technology to our people.
“The transition will also be a catalyst for retailers and installers to emerge all over the country, with a massive impact on the local economy. For musicians and movie producers, the DSO will be a blessing as they can now wrong-foot those who have been pirating their works by releasing such works directly to millions of homes using the digital platform.”
