The Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), in partnership with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), hosted a webinar titled “The Future of TV Is Here: Understanding Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over,” bringing together regulators and industry executives to discuss the country’s transition to digital broadcasting and the infrastructure being built to support it.

The session featured two presentations focused on the technical and commercial pillars of Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) programme: the FreeTV platform and a new national Audience Measurement System (AMS).

FreeTV: Building an Inclusive, Free-to-Air Future

Clementine Usman-Wamba, Head of Digital Switch Over at the NBC, presented what she described as the “big picture” behind FreeTV, positioning it as an inclusion and creative-economy initiative rather than a purely technical platform. She stressed that when analogue television is switched off, no Nigerian should lose access to information, entertainment, and cultural programming.

Key highlights from her presentation included:
● FreeTV will operate as a genuinely free-to-air service, requiring no subscription payment or encryption, and will be receivable on existing DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 compatible equipment without a proprietary decoder.
● The platform currently carries 88 local channels spanning news, entertainment, sports, music, movies, lifestyle, children’s programming, and state broadcasters, with more channels in onboarding. The near-term target is at least 100 channels.
● The FreeTV app has recorded approximately 220,000 downloads since its June 2026 launch.
● Participating broadcasters must meet a minimum 60% local-content requirement alongside technical and programme-guide standards, and currently benefit from an 18-month carriage-free window to support platform growth.
● Six regional production studios are in development to decentralise content production, alongside exploratory partnerships with telecom operators to extend FreeTV into connected viewing environments.
● The NBC is targeting 95% household connectivity to FreeTV by Q4 2027 and projects the initiative could create up to 100,000 jobs within three years.

AMS: Establishing a Trusted National Audience Currency
Patrick Gomes, COO of First Media and Entertainment Integrated Limited (FMEIL), detailed the rollout of Nigeria’s national Audience Measurement System, which FMEIL was appointed to design and deliver by the NBC and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria. The initial focus is Television Audience Measurement (TAM), beginning in Lagos ahead of a phased expansion to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and other markets across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Key highlights from his presentation included:
● A national establishment survey has been completed with a sample of 60,000 households, with a proposed second wave of 30,000 households still to be confirmed.
● The Lagos leg of the survey covered nearly 7,000 television households, forming the basis for a representative panel recruitment process.
● Following a 20-household pilot, recruitment of the first 100 Lagos households is underway, with a target of over 300 installed households by the end of October 2026, building toward a full panel of 1,500 households (and roughly 1,800 PeopleMeter devices, to account for multi-set homes).
● The full Lagos installation is estimated to take around 100 days, with the technology backend and data centre operating out of Bulgaria, supported by local mobile connectivity.
● Participating households will help shape Nigeria’s official television measurement standard, giving broadcasters, advertisers, and agencies more reliable data for programming, planning, and campaign decisions.

A Shared Vision for Nigeria’s Broadcast Future
Both presentations underscored a common theme: Nigeria’s digital switch over is about more than infrastructure upgrades. It is an effort to build an inclusive, content-rich broadcasting ecosystem alongside the trusted data systems needed to sustain it commercially.

MIPAN says it will continue to engage stakeholders across the media and broadcast industry to track progress on the DSO programme and its impact on not just Nigeria’s creative economy but on the marketing ecosystem at large.

About MIPAN
The Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) is an industry body representing independent media practitioners across Nigeria’s broadcast and creative sectors.

Media Contact:
Henry Ononiwu
Publicity Secretary, MIPAN
[email protected]