Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has expressed confidence that the June 17
long-awaited Digital Switch Over (DSO) project nationwide launch would be a reality.
The minister in his Special Assistant, (Media), Rabiu Ibrahim, described it as a major milestone in President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda for the broadcast industry.
Alhaji Idris stated this on Wednesday during a tour of facilities at NIGCOMSAT located at the Obasanjo Space Centre.
He was accompanied by the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Charles Ebuebu and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT, Jane Egerton-Idehen.
The minister described it as a turning point in Nigeria’s broadcasting sector, attributing it to the promise by President Tinubu that all sectors the broadcast industry would be reformed.
Alhaji Idris expressed happiness that after many years of delay, Nigeria is now ready to complete the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.
“This is going to bring a lot of advantages to broadcasters, viewers, and advertisers.
“If you are viewing any particular station, you (will) know who is viewing, what they are watching, and how many people are watching,” he disclosed.
According to him, the new system will provide accurate audience measurement and analytics that will help advertisers and broadcasters make informed programming and investment decisions while improving content delivery to Nigerians.
The Minister also highlighted the broader economic and technological impact of the initiative, stressing that the platform would deepen competition in the broadcasting industry, expand access to free television services, and improve viewing quality across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The monopoly has been broken. Everybody is going to compete. Content is going to grow, viewership will grow, and Nigeria is now moving from SD to HD broadcasting,” he said.
Alhaji Idris added that Nigerians will now enjoy cleaner television signals through satellite and mobile applications powered by NIGCOMSAT technology.
The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Charles Ebuebu, said the upgraded DSO framework was designed to align with emerging technologies and modern viewing habits.
He explained that the new system would leverage on satellite broadcasting and mobile applications to ensure wider accessibility beyond the pilot cities previously covered under the earlier DSO experiment.
“We are going to have 100 channels by the day of launch and even more because more content producers are talking to us.
“We want to create one market and one platform for Nigeria,” he stated,
