Before now, Nigeria has been a green field for the numerous cable, satellite and terrestrial TV services. The notable providers include GOTV, Startimes, DSTV, CTL, MultiTV etc.
These TV service providers thrived amidst lack of competition or substitutes. Although they were marked with impressive superb technology, interesting TV programmes, there was no doubt that Nigerians paid through their noses to maintain such services. Most notable, was the fact that none of these TV services nor technologies was indigenous.
Thanks to the TV analog to digital switchover policy of the Nigeria Government. Already, some states in Nigeria have started benefiting from the pilot scheme of the TV digital switchover. According to the policy, all TV broadcasting services in Nigeria would have switched over to the super digital broadcasting platform by on or before July, 2017.
This is the year of reckoning, according to the Nigeria’s minister of Information, Lai Mohammed when he spoke on the unshaken resolve of the government to implement the digitalization switchover policy.
WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER THE TV DIGITAL SWITCHOVER
With the digitalization switchover of all TV broadcast services in Nigeria, it means that many more TV channels would be accessible, crystal clear, personalized and cheap. With a single TV setup box, every Nigerian who owns a TV would start enjoying over 25 TV channels of both local and international origins.
All the channels would be crystal clear at no subscription cost. When this happens, there would be as expected, a significant competition between the new digital TV setup box system and other already existing terrestrial and satellite TV technologies like GOTV, Startimes and DSTV, MyTV etc. respectively.
I think it is a welcomed development for over 170 million Nigerians wishing to conquer the tyranny of highly expensive and monopolized satellite and terrestrial TV services and technologies in Nigeria.
