The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has identified emerging revenue and market opportunities for Nigeria’s creative businesses as the country continues to implement its Digital Switchover (DSO) programme.

The opportunities were outlined by Clementine Usman-Wamba, Head of the DSO Office at the NBC, during a seminar themed “Film Producers: Building & Sustainability,” organised by the TAMPAN Guild of Editors at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos State.

Usman-Wamba explained that the DSO represents more than the movement from analogue to digital broadcasting. According to her, the transition could transform Nigeria’s creative economy by widening access to content, improving production quality and opening additional commercial opportunities for creative businesses.

The NBC estimates that the programme could contribute about N5 trillion to the Nigerian economy, create 2.7 million jobs by 2030 and generate as much as $100 billion in revenue.

A key opportunity highlighted by the commission is the requirement for FreeTV channels to maintain 60 per cent local content. The policy is expected to drive greater demand for Nigerian productions in Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and other local languages.

The digital transition could also give creative businesses access to additional income opportunities through the FreeTV App marketplace. These include advertising, sponsorships and merchandising.

The platform currently offers more than 90 movies through its Video-on-Demand service, which is presently undergoing free testing. Monetisation features are expected to be introduced at a later stage.

Audience data is another area the NBC identified as important to the growth of creative businesses. The commission highlighted its ViewTrack audience measurement system, which it said delivers 94 per cent accuracy in measuring viewer behaviour.

Such audience insights could enable content businesses to better understand their viewers and use the information to guide production, marketing and distribution decisions.

The NBC is also establishing six regional studios in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Benin. The facilities are expected to support content production closer to local communities.

Another development under the digital broadcasting transition is the planned move from Free-to-View to Free-to-Air. The change is expected to eliminate encryption barriers, potentially allowing content businesses to reach larger audiences while reducing distribution costs.

Despite the opportunities presented by the DSO programme, Usman-Wamba identified several challenges that creative businesses will need to overcome as broadcasting becomes increasingly digital.

These include piracy, infrastructure deficiencies in rural areas and the need for businesses to sustain high production standards.

She encouraged creative businesses to embrace digital tools and audience analytics, build partnerships with relevant stakeholders and maximise the opportunities emerging from Nigeria’s transition to digital broadcasting.

Source: MSME Africa Online