The Nigerian African Football Cup of Nations (AFCON) triumph has been marked as contributing towards the improvement in digital media at the 2013 Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum (DBSF) which ended on Wednesday, February 13 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“It is a feat which I believe will serve as a catalyst for all sectors of Nigerian life, including the broadcasting industry,” John Momoh, Chief Executive at Nigerian station Channels Television, said in reference to the AFCON win.
“If this momentum is anything to go by then the recent announcement that we are well on our way to joining the rest of the world in digital technology in broadcasting should be taken very seriously,” he added.
Despite acknowledgement of the challenge digital migration poses, Momoh is confident the change can occur within 28 months.
Nigeria, like every African country, is bound to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) agreement to switch from an analogue to digital signal to 2015. So far only Mauritius has completed the migration and progress on the continent has been slow.
Momoh declared a bright digital Nigerian future with reference to digital television statistics, revealing there are more than 40 million TV sets and 24 million TV homes in the country.
The eighth annual DSBF took place in Sandton, Johannesburg from February 11 &ddash; 13, discussing the status quo of digital broadcasting in Africa.
Of the 54 countries tasked with switching from analogue to digital television, 29 are struggling to finalise plans, while ten are in launch phase and four are on track.
