The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has firmly reaffirmed that the analogue signal switch-off will not take effect until 31 December 2028—a full 30-month window from July 2026.
Mrs Clementine Usman-Wamba, Deputy Director and Head of the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) at the NBC, delivered this clarification on Thursday, 16 July, during the South-West Broadcast Summit and the induction ceremony for new members of the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters (SNB). She stressed that the reminder had become imperative following an egregious misreport by an otherwise reputable online medium, which erroneously claimed that the cutoff would occur in August 2026. The NBC Director-General, Charles Ebuebu, had earlier confirmed the December 2028 timeline in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, stating: “We put a timeline for analogue switch-off. Before that time, a lot of things will be put in place. This is just phase one”.
After a series of postponements and missed deadlines, the NBC successfully navigated Nigeria through the initial digital switchover phase on 17 June 2026. That date marked the nationwide launch of the Commission’s revised digital broadcasting framework, known as the “Big Picture” strategy—a decisive shift from years of delays and fragmented implementation efforts. The DSO programme itself has been a protracted saga: conceived in 2006 to align with the International Telecommunications Union’s directive for member states to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting by June 2015, Nigeria missed that deadline and several subsequent ones.
By February 2023, the project had been rolled out in only eight states—Plateau, Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, Osun, Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Abuja, FCT—despite an estimated N68 billion budget and nearly N60 billion already spent. Challenges have included inadequate funding, infrastructure deficits, insufficient public awareness, political instability, stakeholder disagreements, and logistical hurdles in distributing set-top boxes.
The Commission is now actively driving the transition through the Free TV Platform, which provides citizens with seamless access to a wide array of television channels.
Unveiled on 17 June 2026 as part of the DSO programme, FreeTV is a national digital television platform offering Nigerians access to over 100 channels at no monthly subscription cost.
Viewers can enjoy news, sports, movies, music, educational programmes, children’s content, and dedicated indigenous-language channels, with coverage extending beyond major cities to rural and underserved communities via satellite and terrestrial transmission.
The NBC has now expanded FreeTV access to mobile devices via a dedicated application available on PlayStore and iOS platforms, requiring only a simple registration process with a WhatsApp, Gmail, or other available account.
NBC Director-General, Charles Ebuebu explained the rationale: “Studies have shown they watch it basically on mobile digital devices, so that’s why we decided to go the two ways”—combining satellite broadcasting for the masses with mobile access for younger audiences. He added that Nigerians anywhere in the world would be able to watch the country’s television channels through the FreeTV application.
The NBC delegation took its ongoing sensitisation and stakeholder engagement efforts to Ibadan, where broadcasters across the South-West region gathered to revitalise the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters (SNB). The SNB operates with a vision to serve as the foremost advocacy body for the Nigerian broadcast industry, and a mission to monitor, regulate, and uphold professional standards across the sector.
Originally registered in 1994, the Society is now awaiting legislative progress on a Bill currently before the National Assembly. The Bill, which seeks to establish the SNB by an Act of Parliament to regulate the conduct of the broadcasting profession, has passed its first reading and is poised for a second reading imminently.
The proposed legislation would prohibit broadcasters without an SNB certificate from practising, a move that has sparked both support and controversy. While the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria has argued that the SNB will reposition the broadcast industry rather than duplicate regulatory mandates, critics, including the Save Nigeria Movement, have opposed the Bill, warning that it would duplicate the functions of the existing NBC.
The 31 December 2028 analogue switch-off deadline carries significant economic implications. The NBC has projected that the successful completion of the DSO would unlock Nigeria’s N605.2 billion advertising market through improved audience measurement systems. The transition would also free up valuable spectrum in the 700/800 MHz band, with future auctions potentially generating more than $1 billion in revenue; NBC Director-General Ebuebu has valued the spectrum at upwards of $50 billion.
Nigeria’s creative industry, which contributes approximately N5 trillion to GDP and supports over 4.2 million jobs, stands to benefit from improved distribution channels and export opportunities across West Africa. The NBC has emphasised that the analogue switch-off date of 2028 remains achievable, provided all parties align with the revised implementation roadmap.
