By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

HOW many times have you heard about the Digital Switch Over? Have many times have you been told of postponements and while more preparations were needed?

On Wednesday, 17 June 2026, in the din of the FIFA World Cup, and other demands and distractions of life, Nigeria commence firm steps in the putting aside of its analogue broadcasting services that started with BBC’s radio diffusion in 1935. The digital switch will be launched.

Nigeria’s journey to transition from analogue to digital television has spanned nearly 18 years. Nobody can call that a leap under any circumstance. The story is told in different ways. What is constant is that there were reasons for a new date which also required another new date.

Missed deadlines, funding bottlenecks, and policy shifts occupied the years. Often not mentioned is that launch dates were set without considerations for the gamut of work required to have a destination instead of a journey.

Nigeria is 11 years behind the International Telecommunication Union switch over deadline of 2015. In those years, there have been more changes in technology which have meant more work to make the digital cut off.

As the launch date draws nearer, there are some concerns that the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been addressing to assure stakeholders “that Nigeria’s DSO will be run in the best traditions of public service and will uphold transparency, accountability, due process, fairness, inclusion and representation”.

“The NBC notes the concerns and issues raised by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, BON, and the Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria, IBAN, as well as counter and independent views from sector players and the media. First, the overwhelming interest is encouraging and speaks to a collective desire to ensure that Nigeria gets it right this time. We applaud the willingness to work collectively towards a rightful path and destination,” the NBC said.

The digital switch over would be accelerated through FreeTV, a government-backed initiative by NBC. The platform uses a hybrid satellite (NigComSat-1R) and an internet delivery system to provide nationwide coverage, operating without encryption (FTA) to enable broad access that would reach all parts of Nigeria.

It features over 100 HD channels covering news, entertainment, sports, kids/family, movies, and music, with dedicated slots for programming in Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo, among other indigenous languages.

The over 100 channels are 100 per cent free to watch, with no subscription fees or proprietary set-top boxes required.

Charles Ebuebu, Director-General of the NBC states that 31 December 2028 has been set as the final deadline for turning off all analogue broadcasts across Nigeria.

For participation on the platform, the NBC says broadcasters must meet a minimum 60% local content quota and actively promote the FreeTV platform. The NBC is setting up production studios in the six geo-political zones to facilitate generation of local content which it expects to create more jobs.

“We are rebuilding revenue generation from the DSO around a clear principle: build the audience first, then monetise. We will abandon the old, fragmented model in favour of a unified national platform, FreeTV, which launches nationwide on 17 June 2026,” NBC’s Ebuebu continued.

“The platform will be the primary revenue driver. Viewership data from the new audience measurement system will enable networks to charge premium rates. The TV advertising market is forecast to grow from $490 million to $1.47 billion.”

After years of missed opportunities, the digital switch over is coming not as a digital leap, but a destination of opportunities for Nigeria’s broadcasting sector and associated enterprises. Let us embrace it.

Finally…

Our June 12 years

We woke up

We shocked us

We shocked all

No fights

No fears

No frets

No foes

All friends

We voted

We waited

We wanted a president

They gave us a precedent

IN a statement issued on Saturday, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Katsina State, Dr. Nasiru Mu’azu, exonerated bandits from the death of retired Maj-Gen Rabe Abubakar who they abducted with his wife two weeks ago. “The retired military officer died from complications arising from diabetes and hypertension while in captivity,” Dr. Mu’azu said as if the public would not know that the bandits were to be blamed for the death. Why make excuses for the bandits?

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rambled. There is no indication that the military would be told to go after the killers of one of their illustrious officers.

May the Almighty grant Abubakar peace

GUNMEN killed at least 17 farmers and wounded at least 13 others as they worked in their farms on Friday in Goron Namaye, in the Maradun area of Zamfara State.

A day earlier, gunmen abducted 39 people in Magamin Diddi, a community in Maradun, while residents were negotiating peace with the parents of a suspected bandit leader.

THREE persons lost their lives when bandits attacked the UBE Secondary/Primary School, Iluke, in the Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, according to the police. The deceased were Mr Ganiyu Anifowose, the Vice Principal of UBE Secondary/Primary School; Mr Sunday Alhassan, aged 70 years; and six-year-old Sunday Ayele.

SCHOOLS shut in parts of Edo State, and in Minna, Niger State, as news spread of possible abduction of students. These fears have put many students on edge, particularly those writing their senior secondary school examinations.

JUST last night, bandits set fire on a primary, and secondary schools in Kautikari village, Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State. Residents fled into the bush, hoping that rescue would come, soon.

BANDITS killed 20 people in an attack on Fesken Rafi community in Kebbi State. The living got assurances of increased security from the state government.

THESE are some of the attacks in the last week. When Tinubu addresses security, and other matters, it is as if he is talking of a different country without these realities that our President has abandoned us to navigate daily. Once, the President sent the military after the bandits, now he sends forest guards. What changed? It is not as if the attacks and their ferocity are abating.

•ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues.

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