The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has disclosed that its planned Digital Switch-Over (DSO) will unlock the N605.2 billion national advertising market for broadcasters and content creators.
The Director-General of the NBC, Charles Ebuebu, disclosed this at a press conference attended by Naijaonpoint.
He added that a national launch is targeted for 17 June 2026, with the final analogue switch-off set for 31 December 2028, while leading the press on a media tour of several Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) facilities.
According to Ebuebu, the DSO will enable Nigerian government institutions to deliver digital broadcasting to every household across a vast and uneven terrain within a commercially sustainable, technologically credible, and regulatorily defensible structure.
On the economy, he explained that the freed-up digital dividend spectrum (700/800 MHz), which he estimated is worth over $1 billion in auction proceeds, will be reinvested in digital infrastructure and rural broadband.
He emphasized that the creative economy, already contributing approximately N5 trillion to GDP and employing over 4.2 million Nigerians, will gain a modern distribution spine, enabling content export across West Africa via NigComSat-1R.
The Commission called on broadcasters (BON and independent stations) to bring their content to the FreeTV platform, take advantage of the 18-month free carriage window, and participate actively in the governance of the platform.
He admitted, however, that the set-top box issue is facing pending litigation with local manufacturers, but added that this does not amount to a blanket injunction stopping national implementation.
Responding to a question on when the replacement satellites, NIGCOMSAT 2A and 2B, would be launched, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIGCOMSAT Limited, Jane Egerton-Idehen, stated that NIGCOMSAT 2A is scheduled for launch in 2028, while NIGCOMSAT 2B is expected in 2029.
According to her, these timelines are based on rigorous procurement and manufacturing schedules.
On the estimated cost and logistics of repointing dishes if a different orbital slot had to be used, she said NIGCOMSAT would avoid any scenario that would require mass repointing.
She added that a nationwide campaign for five million households would cost between N5 billion and N10 billion, highlighting that NIGCOMSAT would implement a phased, zone-by-zone migration to avoid national blackouts.
In 2022, the Nigerian government announced that it had paid all debts owed to service providers under the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) project.
The former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed this in Abuja during the 26th edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration Scorecard Series.
Mohammed had said that following a stall in the DSO process, the Federal Government resolved that, for the transition to be sustainable, it should be a private-sector-driven exercise.
He stressed that the DSO must be self-sustaining and that there should be no more subsidies on set-top boxes or signal carriage.
The Digital Switch-Over is the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.
The Federal Government had in 2022 commenced the implementation of the White Paper on the Digital Switch-Over (DSO), which will limit Pay-TV operators from self-carriage of their signals.
The Federal Government also stated that the DSO remains a priority project because it will improve local content, create jobs, curb content monopolies, and enhance on-demand television services for millions of Nigerian households.
