The Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, MIPAN, and the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, are advancing Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital television with plans for wider FreeTV access and a new national audience measurement system.
The developments were discussed during a webinar titled “The Future of TV Is Here: Understanding Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over”, which brought together regulators and industry executives to examine the infrastructure supporting the country’s Digital Switch Over programme.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the session focused on two key areas of the transition, the FreeTV platform designed to expand access to digital broadcasting and the Audience Measurement System, AMS, being developed to provide more reliable data on television viewing patterns.
Clementine Usman Wamba, NBC’s Head of Digital Switch Over, said FreeTV was designed to ensure Nigerians continue to have access to information, entertainment and cultural programming as analogue broadcasting is phased out.
The platform operates as a free to air service without subscription charges or encryption. It can be received on compatible DVB T2 and DVB S2 equipment without requiring a proprietary decoder.
FreeTV currently carries 88 local channels covering news, entertainment, sports, music, films, lifestyle, children’s programming and state broadcasting. The NBC expects the number to reach at least 100 as additional channels are brought onto the platform.
Its mobile application, launched in June 2026, has recorded about 220,000 downloads.
Broadcasters participating in the platform are required to maintain at least 60 per cent local content and comply with technical and programme guide requirements. They currently have an 18 month carriage free period to support the growth of the service.
The NBC is also developing six regional production studios as part of efforts to decentralise content creation, while discussions are ongoing with telecommunications operators over possible integration of FreeTV into connected viewing platforms.
The commission has set a target of achieving 95 per cent household connectivity to FreeTV by the fourth quarter of 2027 and estimates that the initiative could generate up to 100,000 jobs within three years.
The second major development discussed at the webinar was the national Audience Measurement System being delivered by First Media and Entertainment Integrated Limited, FMEIL, following its appointment by the NBC and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.
Patrick Gomes, Chief Operating Officer of FMEIL, said the initial phase would focus on television audience measurement, beginning in Lagos before expanding to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and other locations across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
A national establishment survey involving 60,000 households has already been completed. In Lagos, nearly 7,000 television households were covered, providing the basis for recruiting a representative audience panel.
Following a pilot involving 20 households, recruitment of the first 100 Lagos households is underway. FMEIL is targeting more than 300 installed households by the end of October 2026, eventually building a Lagos panel of 1,500 households with about 1,800 PeopleMeter devices to accommodate homes with multiple television sets.
The Lagos installation is expected to take about 100 days, while the technology backend and data centre will operate from Bulgaria with local mobile connectivity supporting the system.
MIPAN said it would continue working with stakeholders to monitor the progress of the Digital Switch Over and assess its implications for Nigeria’s broadcasting, creative and marketing industries.
The two initiatives place access to digital television and reliable audience data at the centre of the next phase of Nigeria’s broadcasting transition, with the potential to influence both how audiences consume content and how broadcasters and advertisers measure its reach.
