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From Wasted Billions to National Rebirth: NBC Unveils Bold Plan to Rescue Nigerian Broadcasting

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For seventeen years, the promise of digital television in Nigeria has remained just that — an unfulfilled promise. Over ₦60 billion has been spent, yet the majority of Nigerians continue to receive analogue signals, while broadcasters operate in the dark, lacking reliable audience data.

On Tuesday, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) finally addressed this long-standing failure with rare candour. In a presentation titled “The Big Picture,” the regulator acknowledged systemic breakdowns and outlined an ambitious, time-bound roadmap to realise a true digital future for Nigerian broadcasting.

Dr. Charles Ebuebu, Director General of the NBC, delivered the keynote speech to the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) General Assembly with remarkable candour and clarity — a welcome change from the regulator’s usual tone.

FreeTV: A Genuine National Platform

The proposed solution, branded FreeTV, is not just an incremental tweak. It is a complete national digital broadcasting platform aimed at ensuring universal access.

  • 100% national coverage through a hybrid satellite and IP delivery system
  • No encryption — completely free-to-air
  • A user-friendly mobile app for seamless viewing
  • A European-standard audience measurement system that will finally provide advertisers with accurate, credible viewership data

For the first 18 months, any broadcaster that signs on, commits to a minimum of 60% local content, and actively promotes the platform will broadcast for free. A regulated rate card will come into effect from January 2028.

The analogue switch-off date is firm: 31 December 2028 — with no further extensions planned.

Decentralising Storytelling and Creating Jobs

Beyond technology, the plan carries a bold cultural and economic vision. Six regional production hubs will be established to decentralise content creation and amplify local voices:

  • Lagos – Film and post-production
  • Kano – Hausa content
  • Enugu – Igbo language and culture
  • Benin – Edo heritage and South-South stories
  •  Port Harcourt
  • Jos

Additional hubs are expected in other geopolitical zones.

The NBC believes that when compelling local stories reach national audiences with measurable viewership, both creative industry revenue and national cohesion will strengthen. Thousands of jobs are projected in production, technical, and creative roles.

Learning from Global Successes, Avoiding Past Failures

The strategy draws smartly from international benchmarks:

  • The public-private partnership model of the UK’s Freeview
  • South Africa’s surge in local content following its successful Digital Switchover (DSO)
  • Bulgaria’s proven GARB audience measurement system

Ghana’s stalled and politicised digital transition is explicitly cited as the mistake Nigeria must avoid.

A Clear Call to Action

Broadcasters now face a genuine opportunity. The NBC has removed almost every technical and financial barrier for the first 18 months. In return, it demands commitment: high local content quotas and active promotion of the platform.

The message from the podium was direct and powerful: “Your content. Our distribution. National reach.”

After years of false starts and wasted resources, Nigerian broadcasting finally has a firm finish line — and a ticking clock. As Dr Ebuebu declared, “The digital future will happen. The only question is whether you will lead it… or watch it from the sidelines.”

Background: Understanding Digital Switchover (DSO)

Digital Switchover (also known as Digital Television Transition or Analogue Switch-Off) is the global process of replacing analogue terrestrial television broadcasting with more efficient digital terrestrial television (DTT).

Key Benefits:

  • Superior picture and sound quality (including HD and UHD support)
  • More channels within the same spectrum
  • Lower transmission power and operational costs for broadcasters
  • Freeing up valuable “digital dividend” spectrum for mobile broadband and other services

Why the Switch Is Necessary: Analogue signals are spectrum-inefficient and outdated technically. Digital broadcasting is more resilient, supports interactive features like Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs), and provides better reception — including on portable and mobile devices. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) coordinated regional deadlines, with many countries aiming for 2015 under the GE06 Agreement.

During the transition, broadcasters typically simulcast(broadcast both analogue and digital signals) to allow gradual migration. Viewers with older analogue TVs require a digital set-top box (decoder) or a new digital television to continue receiving free-to-air channels. Cable, satellite, and IPTV services are generally unaffected as they were already digital.

Global Status: Most developed nations completed the transition years ago:

  • United States: Full-power analogue ended in 2009 (low-power extensions until 2022).
  • United Kingdom: Completed by 2012.
  • Many European and Asian countries followed in the 2010s.

Several African countries have faced delays due to infrastructure, funding, and awareness challenges. As of 2026, a few are still in progress or reviving earlier stalled projects.

Nigeria’s Journey Nigeria’s DSO efforts commenced around 2006–2012, with pilot projects in Jos (2016), Abuja, Kaduna, and Kwara. The country missed the original ITU-inspired 2015 deadline due to funding shortages, infrastructure gaps, limited technical capacity, and inconsistent government support.

As of early 2026, the project has been revived under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The NBC is partnering with Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) on a hybrid terrestrial-satellite model to ensure true nationwide coverage, especially in remote areas.

Targeted Benefits for Nigeria:

  • Significantly more TV channels with superior quality
  • Freed spectrum for telecommunications growth
  • Economic boost for local content production and broadcasting
  • Improved access in underserved regions

Remaining Challenges:

  • Affordability of hybrid decoders/set-top boxes
  • Public awareness and sensitisation
  • Technical skills development
  • Ensuring no citizen is left behind during the switch

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Insider Dealing: Mutual Benefits Director, Ogunbiyi Sells Shares Worth Over ₦6.3 Million

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June 18, 2026

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BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has disclosed an insider transaction involving one of its directors, Dr. Akinade Ogunbiyi, who sold more than 1.5 million shares in the insurance company in a deal valued at over ₦6.3 million.

The disclosure, signed by Jide Ibitayo, Company Secretary, filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and the investing public, showed that Ogunbiyi, a Non-Executive Director of the company, disposed of 1,507,309 ordinary shares of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc between June 3 and June 9, 2026.

According to the notification, the shares were sold at prices ranging from ₦4.20 to ₦4.33 per share, placing the total value of the transaction at between ₦6.33 million and ₦6.53 million.

The transaction was reported as an initial notification of insider dealing in line with regulatory requirements that mandate directors and other insiders of listed companies to disclose transactions involving the securities of their companies.

Mutual Benefits Assurance identified the financial instrument involved in the transaction as its ordinary shares, traded on the Nigerian Exchange under the ticker symbol “MBENEFIT.”
Insider dealing notifications are a key component of market transparency and corporate governance, providing investors with information on share transactions undertaken by directors, executives, and other individuals with access to potentially price-sensitive information.

While insider transactions often attract investor attention, market analysts note that such dealings do not necessarily indicate changes in a company’s outlook, as they may be influenced by personal investment decisions, portfolio rebalancing, or other financial considerations.

The disclosed transaction took place in Lagos, Nigeria, and was executed over a seven-day period between June 3 and June 9, 2026.

Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc remains one of the companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange that regularly complies with insider dealing disclosure requirements, reinforcing transparency in the capital market.

The post Insider Dealing: Mutual Benefits Director, Ogunbiyi Sells Shares Worth Over ₦6.3 Million appeared first on Business Today NG.

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NASA picks Eric Schmidt’s rocket company for Mars mission, setting up a race with SpaceX

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12 minutes ago

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June 18, 2026

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Relativity Space—a rocket maker acquired by former Google executive chair Eric Schmidt last year after stumbling on the path to orbit—might just beat SpaceX to Mars.

On Tuesday, NASA said it hired the company to build a spacecraft to house a suite of scientific instruments, launch it into space, and fly it to Mars.

The structure of the contract is akin to the deals that NASA made with SpaceX to fly cargo to the International Space Station, or Firefly Aerospace to put a lander on the Moon. The government agency handles the science, while the private company provides low-cost infrastructure.

Aeolus, as the mission is dubbed, will contain four instruments to measure and image Mars from orbit, providing what NASA expects to be the first daily, global view of dust, winds, and temperature in its atmosphere. The agency said that data will make it safer for landers and, someday, astronauts, to visit the surface of the Red Planet.

“By pairing NASA’s world‑class instruments with commercial innovation and investment, we can deliver more science, more often, and reduce the time it takes to get essential data into the hands of researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in statement.

The mission is set to launch in 2028—a rapid pace that will require Relativity to design and build the spacecraft to carry the Aeolus instruments, and finish building the rocket that will carry it to space, all on a tight timeline. NASA did not disclose how much it is paying Relativity for the mission, and Relativity did not respond to questions from TechCrunch.

Isaacman, who has flown to space twice on private SpaceX missions, has championed public-private partnerships like this. Under this model, the company working with NASA takes on some of the development cost of the project, in exchange for allowing NASA to stretch its budget further—a structure that has become a template for how the agency funds ambitious missions without bearing all the financial risk itself.

But NASA is taking on risk as well: Relativity is unproven, and there’s no guarantee the mission will even make it off the ground. Past startup partners of NASA have gone bankrupt or seen Moon landers arrive askew. The potential payoff for the company is meant to extend beyond the NASA contract itself, including commercial applications, like launching satellites or delivering cargo to the Moon. Still, the further out into space these partnerships reach, the murkier the market becomes for commercial services.

Relativity was founded in 2015 by two former SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers, with the idea of using 3D printing to its maximum potential as a path to building a cheaper rocket. The company’s first design, Terran-1, launched in March 2023 and failed mid-flight. Relativity doubled down by moving on to a larger design, dubbed the Terran R.

Before Relativity could get it to the launch pad, the company ran into fundraising challenges, and Schmidt took a majority stake in the company in it last year, installing himself as CEO. He’s been tight-lipped about the investment but has expressed interest in orbital data centers, and is thought to be using Relativity to launch a space telescope, Lazuili, financed by his family philanthropy, Schmidt Sciences.

The former tech executive’s decision to take over a space company last year puzzled some observers because rocketry is a crowded and capital-intensive field. But pent up demand for new rockets—fueled by delays at Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin—could still lead to a payoff for Schmidt if Terran R can actually make it to space.

And the new contract might give Schmidt a chance to put one over on Elon Musk, a regular sparring partner of his on the issue of AI safety. While Musk has long talked of his Martian ambitions, SpaceX has never actually sent its own mission to Mars (no, the Tesla he launched into space in 2018 missed).

If Relativity’s Aeolus launches on schedule, it could be the first private mission to reach the Red Planet.

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