World-class audience measurement will accelerate Digital Switch Over – Information minister
By Oghale Mafuru
The launch of the Digital Switch (DSO) over the project in Nigeria opens a vista of opportunities for businesses, brand owners, advertisers, and indeed the creative industry. To facilitate easy and efficient audience measurement, the Federal of government initiated the commencement of a new audience measurement system in the country that will encourage investment, creativity, and growth for the sector.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the audience measurement Board which was held in Abuja, Honorable Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed that the success of the Digital Switch Over is hinged on an effective scientific audience measurement system.
“Audience measurement is the missing link in the entire ecosystem and it will make our DSO, which we are going to aggressively implement this year, sustainable for Signal Distributors, Channel owners, TV content producers, and Advertisers”, he said.
According to him, an objective and scientific audience measurement system that articulates the value of the content to consumers as well as the value of the audience to advertisers is vital to the effective implementation of Digital Switch Over in the country.
While affirming the need to overhaul the entire audience measurement system in the country, the information minister said the previous model hindered investment potentials and stifled the growth of the industry.
In his words: “The existing model will never allow Nigeria’s Creative Industry to reach its full potential. It stunts the quality of the content that can be created and also limits the capacity of television platforms to invest in dynamic content that consumers will be attracted to. The absence of a scientific audience measurement regime has resulted in under-investment in the sector.
“As I have always said, the absence of a scientific audience measurement regime has resulted in under-investment in the sector, which is necessary to foster the growth of the industry. Today, the advertising community continues to rely on subjective factors when making decisions on the content they want, as opposed to how many viewers the content truly attracts.
The information boss reiterates commitment to deliver optimally on all efforts to ensure the success of the DSO project and reposition the sector for growth and development.
The first phase of Digital Switch Over, DSO rollout held in Jos, Abuja, Ilorin, Kaduna, Enugu, and Osogbo between April 2016 and February 2018.
During the lunch of the second phase of the rollout in Lagos the information minister noted that “The DSO is not just about high fidelity sound and picture, it is about creating jobs, especially for our teeming youth, stimulating local content, and empowering channel owners. The launch of DSO shows the power and the extensive reach of modern broadcasting, which makes it a veritable tool for national development”.
The DSO offers viewers about 60 digital channels, including sports, music, movies, and news, and provides Value Added Services.
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