From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Federal Government is vigorously committed to implementing a comprehensive nationwide transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, Minister of Information Lai Mohammed has said.
The minister, speaking Tuesday at the launch of the Digital Switch Over in Kano, held the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting became imperative, following a treaty signed at a regional radiocommunications workshop at Geneva in 2016.
He explained that the transition over was aimed at ensuring a just, equitable and people-oriented information society that would connect underserved populations and remote communities, thereby bridging the digital divide.
He added that the government was equally prioritising the DSO project given its critical position to the Post-COVID-19 recovery and prosperity of the creative industry
He said his ministry has commenced the process of implementing an audience measurement regime, which would go a long way in driving advertising spending on DSO.
Mohammed regretted that over the years, the absence of a world-class audience measurement regime has resulted in under-investment in the advertising sector.
‘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,’ he stated.
‘Consequently, television platforms are subjected to renting out space on their channels to sustain their businesses and content producers are at the mercy of sponsors, a development which, unfortunately, skews the authenticity of their creative output in favour of a few decision-makers, instead of the millions of TV viewers,’ Mohammed said.
‘The existing model will never enable 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,’ he concluded.