In abstract: Title, problem, literature, theory, methodology, findings and conclusions.

THE 2012 DEADLINE FOR THE DIGITIZATION OF BROADCAST STATIONS IN NIGERIA: ASSESSING THE PREPAREDNESS OF LAGOS STATIONS.

BY

IBBI, ANDREW ALI

089083026

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF AN M.SC. DEGREE IN MASS COMMUNICATION.

DECEMBER, 2009

ABSTRACT.

This study looks at the level of preparedness of Nigerian broadcast

stations to the 2012 digitization deadline of the Federal Government. It

is an assessment of the level of readiness of some selected broadcast

stations in Lagos state. Lagos was chosen for this research because of

its dominant position as the city with the highest number of broadcast

stations in the country. The case study and survey methods were

adopted for this research. A combination of the purposive sampling

and random sampling were used to choose the eight stations (radio

and television) that were used for the study. For the survey,

probabilistic random sampling was used to arrive at the sample used.

The results of this study suggest that the government and the

broadcast stations have a lot to do in order to meet the deadline. The

broadcast stations need to improve on their manpower skills and public

enlightenment campaigns. The government would have to do a mass

enlightenment campaign on the implications of digitization and would

have to subsidize the cost of digitization equipment to ensure that the

public is carried along. Since digitization is a global phenomenon, “the

most populous black nation” must not be an island to the international

telecommunication world.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference

held on 16 June 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland, gave birth to the

agreement to switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting in

Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The

new digital plan provides not only possibilities for structured

development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but sufficient flexibilities

for adaptations to the changing telecommunication technology.

The process of digitization involves sampling analogue audio or

video signals at a specific time interval and converting and converting

the continuous analogue waveform to a series of digital pulses. The

development of the technology needed to digitize the analogue signal

has brought about a marriage of information technology and the

computer industry.

The inherent flexibility offered by digital terrestrial broadcasting

will support mobile reception of video, internet and multimedia data,

making applications, services and information accessible and usable

anywhere at any time. The agreement reached at the end of the 2006

ITU conference in Geneva was that the year 2015 be set as the

deadline for the complete switch over from analogue to digital

broadcasting worldwide.

In view of the numerous advantages associated with digital

broadcasting, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji

Umar Musa Yar’Adua approved the commencement of the transition

from analogue to digital broadcasting in Nigeria with effect from

December 2007.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) organized a

stakeholders’ conference on digitization and its implications on 3 June

2008 at the Sheraton Hotel Abuja. The conference had over 400

participants from several African countries including Kenya, Mauritius

and South Africa in attendance. A seventeen point communiqué was

issued at the end of the conference. Apart from agreeing that Nigeria

should join the ITU’s deadline of 2015 so that it will not be left behind,

parts of the recommendations suggest that government should provide

the necessary and enabling infrastructure. It was also recommended

that a sustained free enlightenment campaign be mounted by all

broadcasting stations in Nigeria to adequately sensitize the populace

on the full implications of the digitization process.

The 2015 deadline was moved by the Federal Government to

December 2012 to show how serious the government is over the

digitization matter. The government also announced that by 2009,

Nigerians will be enlightened on digitization and its implications

through a massive awareness campaign by the Federal Government.

1.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.

Because of the significance of the digitization project to the British

government, Starks (2004:14) stated thus “The benefits of the digital

switch over are such that the government decided to invest to the

policy in 2003 the sum of 2.3 billion dollars”.

Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius have been short listed as the

African countries that have shown commitment to the digitization time

table(www.en.wikipedia.org)

In 2007, the Presidential Advisory committee on digitization was

inaugurated in Nigeria by the Federal Government (www.nbc.gov.ng).

Despite the commitment of the government to the committee, it only

submitted its report in July 2009.

According to SADIBA Report (2009), South Africa is working round

the clock to digitize the 2010 world cup coming up in the country.

Research has revealed that because of the expensive nature of digital

equipments, the United States government has made funds available

to help the citizens purchase the equipments in their homes.

According to Onwubuariri (2008) “Failure to join the global

movement may spell doom, including outright cut off from the rest of

the world”. Experts are even of the opinion that if Nigeria fails to

digitize by 2015, our analogue equipment will no longer comply with

the rest of the world’s digital equipment, and the country may become

a dumping ground for obsolete analogue equipment.

The digitization deadline set by the Federal Government is just

three years away. Since we are living in a global village, Nigeria cannot

afford to be left behind in the global digitization policy. This is the third

quarter of 2009, has there been any massive sensitization campaign as

recommended by the government? Up till now, there is no accurate

statistics available on the level of the country’s broadcast stations. The

level of awareness of Nigerians on digitization is not known. This

research intends to shed more light on these areas.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

This research will find answers to the following research

questions:

1. What are the requirements for digitization?

2. Do Nigerian broadcast stations have the skilled manpower to run the

digital equipment?

3. What is the level of awareness of Nigerians regarding the

implications of digitization?

4. What are the Implications of digitization for the entire society?

5. What is the level of preparedness of each of the selected stations?

6. Is there a relationship between the ownership of a broadcast station

and the level of digitization?

1.3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.

The study will achieve the following objectives:

1 To assess the level of readiness of Nigerian broadcast stations with

respect to the 2012 deadline.

2 To check the level of awareness of Nigerians on digitization and its

implications.

3 To discover loopholes (if any) that will threaten the attainment of the

2012 deadline so as to make suggestions that will nip them in the bud.

4 To find out if Nigerian broadcast stations have the trained personnel

to enhance the smooth operation of the digital broadcasting

equipments.

5 To check if the equipments imported are of the specified standard.

6 To serve as a stepping stone for other researchers in the future to

build upon.

1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY.

With African countries like Kenya and South Africa drawing up a

transition to digitization timetable and sticking to it, a research to find

out how far Nigeria has gone with its timetable is necessary, especially

considering the fact that the deadline given by the Federal

Government is three years away.

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of the study will be broadcast stations and respondents

within Lagos alone. Lagos was chosen because it has more than 90%

of the broadcast stations in the country (www.nbc.gov.ng).

DEFINITION OF TERMS.

ANALOGUE : Any continuous signal for which the time varying

variable of the signal is a representation some other time varying

quantity.

DIGITAL: An electrical process that enables information to be coded

into a series of on or off pulses of current.

DIGITIZATION: Representing an analogue signal by a discrete set of

its sample.

DIGITALISATION: Same as digitization.

DIGITAL BROADCASTING: Away of sending signals (pictures and

sound) to an aerial so that the signals will be compressed or squeezed

to take up less space than an analogue signal. The process is

enhanced by the use of computers.

DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL BROADCASTING: An implementation of

digital technology to provide a greater number of channels and better

quality of picture and sound using aerial broadcast instead of satellite

or cable connection.

DIGITIZATION DEADLINE: The date set by broadcast regulatory

bodies for a total switch over from analogue to digital

broadcasting.2015 is the global deadline while 2012 is the deadline set

by Nigeria.

INTERLACED SCANNING: The process of building a picture line by

line in two scans of the television’s electronic beam. The electronic

beam sweeps the picture tube twice, creating half the image’s lines in

the first pass and filling the gaps in the second.

MULTIPLEXING: The use of digitization by broadcast stations to

devide their channels.

PROGRESSIVE SCANNING: The process of building a picture line by

line in one scan of the television’s electronic beam.

SET TOP BOX: A receiver that will decode the digital signal to enable

the channels to be displayed on an analogue television set.

SPECTRUM SCARCITY: Description of the environment of analogue

television broadcasting with a limited number of channels.

SWITCH OVER: The planned switch off of analogue television in

Nigeria in 2012 when all the viewers will need to have access to digital

television.

WAVEFORM: The shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving

in a medium.

REFERENCES

Branston, G and Stafford, R(2006) The Media Student’s Book. London:

Routledge.(pg 537)

Bordwell, D and Thompson, K (2001) Film Art: An Introduction. New

York: McGraw Hill. (pp 429-434)

Craft, J.E et al (2001) Electronic Media. California: Wardsworth(pp 283-

284,360-376)

Dominick, J. R and Wimmer, R. D (1987) Mass Media Research : An

Introduction. California: Wardworth. (pp 14-49)

Haralambos, M et al (2004) Sociology, Themes and Perspectives.

London:Collins.(pp 930-934)

Onwubuariri, P(2008)Television Digitalization :What impact on

Nigerians? http//www.triumphnews.com/tel2372008

SADIBA Report (2009) Analogue to Digital Migration Strategy for South

Africa. http//www.sadiba.co.za

Starks, M(2004) The Digital Television

Project.http//www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk (pp 14-16)

http//www.nbc.gov.ng/digitizationhttp//www.en.wikipedia.org/

digitization

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

The digitization of analogue broadcasting signal is one of the most

significant changes in the broadcast environment to meet the current

conventional trend of digital electronics and flow of global information.

Fidler (1997:89) said “all forms of electronic communication are

converging through digital formats, computer mediated

communication now applies to newspapers, telephone systems,

broadcasting, film production as well as the internet.”Until the 1990s,

each medium of production was seen to involve distinct industrial

processes: film, television, radio, newspaper, magazine, music

recording etc.

Branston and Stafford (2006:211) agree with this statement by

saying “now we commonly refer to the convergence of different

industrial processes so that similar activities are common to more than

one media industry. The main technological engine for this

development is digital media production.”

The process of digitization has immense benefits to the

computing ideals. According to McQuail (2000:16)”it allows information

of all formats to be carried with the same efficiency.”

This chapter is a review of books, journals and other sources of

information in print on digitization and its introduction to the Nigerian

broadcast industry. It also contains the theoretical framework to the

research.

2.1 DIGITIZATION OF BROADCASTING, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.

According to McQuail (2000:16-34)”the more technology

advances, the more converged the realm of mass media will become

with less need for traditional communication technology.”

Branston and Strafford (2006:421) said “digital transmission

and digital distribution systems have undoubtedly changed the media

environment significantly in music and broadcasting.”

Hamelink (1995) in Nwosu and Soola (2007:66) said

“digitization is one of the four major trends in world communication,

interacting and interlocking with consolidation, deregulation and

globalization”. He noted that further that it facilitates the global

trading of services, worldwide financial networks and the spreading of

high technology research and development across the globe.

Eastman and Ferguson (2002:241) said”digitization of

communication provides tremendous increases in usable bandwidth. It

means better quality pictures and eventually, high definition

television.”

Belmont (2001:284) concurs by saying “by converting the

traditional analogue communication signals to digital, several

advantages can be realized.”

Potter(2005:185) said “digitization has made economies of

scope even more attractive because it creates little cost to transmit a

message in many different channels.”

Digital technology was first applied to television to create

special effects that were not possible using analogue technology. The

analogue images were made digital, allowing the picture to be blown

up, shrunk and twisted. Spears (2009:40).

According to www.ict.int, “digital audio broadcasting (DAB)

first started to be developed in Germany in the 1980s.”

www.ellies.com (2009) said “the main reason for the migration

to digital broadcasting is to release valuable spectrum which can be

used for other services.”The website further explained that spectrum is

scarce, hence more efficient use of the spectrum is required so that

more terrestrial telecommunication services can be made valuable.

The site gave the following countries as those that have advanced in

their migration process: Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, New

Zealand, Sweden, France, and Mauritius.

According to www.en.wikipedia.org (2009), the United

Kingdom started its digitization switchover in 1998 and has set 2010 as

its deadline. New Zealand started in April 2008 and intends to achieve

75% digital penetration by 2012. Sweden started in 1999 and fixed

2007 as its deadline. The USA started in 1998 and has switched over

this year. France started in 2005 and intends to switch over by 2011.

The ITU Report (2009) said “The United Kingdom government

has stated preconditions for switch over and considers progress

towards meeting these by the target timescale between 2006-2010.”

Digital broadcasting denotes a broadcasting system where

the broadcasting signal is digitized. Eastman and Ferguson (2002:242)

said “the digital signal at the end users’ site can be fed directly into

the integrated digital receivers, or in a transition period through what

is called a set-top-box (in case of television) to a regular analogue

television receiver.”

According to ITU Report (2009) “the services that will be feasible in the

digital broadcasting network will go beyond television and radio and

encompass a range of new services like: enhanced text tv, download of

software, download of newspapers, e-commerce and internet on

television.”

Martinis (2009) said “the option to go digital has been taken, policies

have been developed to manage migration from analogue to digital.”

Starks (2004:43) said “the region by region process of switching the

terrestrial transmitters means that compulsory switch over will take

place in different years for different parts”.

OFCOM’s Report (2004) said

shutting down analogue TV services will only be

a realistic possibility if there is support for the

objective of switch over itself. Such support is

currently limited….Public suspicion might not last

long, especially if attitudes are addressed by an

effective and well coordinated public information

campaign.

ITU Report (2006) said “digital technologies are now transmitting high

resolution images of soccer world cup from Germany to fans around

the world”. This is an indication that the broadcast industry in Germany

has been digitized as far back as 2006.

Experts the world over agree that the global switch over is an

expensive venture, which will affect a majority of people all over the

world in terms of cost and ability to receive broadcast signals.

Onwubuariri (2008) said “the United states government is giving out

vouchers for set top boxes to families to help mitigate the cost.”

While commenting on the cost of digitization in the United Kingdom,

Starks (2004:12) said “the cost benefit analysis now indicates that the

net present value of completing switch over by the end of 2012 is of

the order of 2.3 billion pounds.”Other countries are coming up with

ways to guarantee the success of digitization in their respective

countries.

2.2 DIGITIZATION OF BROADCASTING IN AFRICA.

According to www.tcrza.go.tz (2008),”the treaty signed by delegates

from African countries at the 2006 Radio Communication Conference in

Geneva represents a major landmark in digitizing broadcasting in

Africa.”

ITU Report (2007) said “the new digital plan, based on broadcasting

standard covers a wide area of the world including Europe, Caribbean

countries, Africa, the Middle east and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

To this effect, different African countries have designed their own

transition from analogue to digital broadcasting timetable. The ITU

Report listed Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria as

the countries that have come up with a feasible digitization timetable.

However, www.en.wikipedia(2009) listed Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa

and morocco as countries that are committed to their digitization

timetable.

As part of the observations to stakeholders in a meeting on digitization

held at the Sheraton Hotel Abuja in 2008, it was noted that “poor

African participation in the ITU conferences and activities had

adversely affected the process of digitization on the continent.”

SADIBA Report (2002:3) had these fears for South Africa’s digitization

timetable ”the digital broadcasting proposition does not pass the

accessibility, affordability and take-up criteria with over whelming

results.” Seven years after this report, it was obvious that the South

African government acted on the terms of the report. While submitting

the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on digitization in

2009 in Abuja, Nigeria, the Director General of the NBC, Yomi

Bolarinwa said “here in Africa, Morocco and Kenya have gone far, while

South Africa is planning to transmit the world cup 2010 matches on the

digital platform.”

The Rapporteurs’ Report (2001:37) stated thus “the broadcasting

technologies in predominant use in Africa for production of

programmes are analogue.”The report continued by saying “it is sad

that owing to lack of appropriate technologies to provide on location

reporting, many of the continent’s crucial happenings either go

unreported in good time or end up being covered by foreign media

corps, whose news slant may not bring out what is of importance to

our people and their needs.”

Branston and Stafford(2006:500) said ”equipment designed for

broadcast use in North America, western Europe and Japan will not

necessarily perform efficiently in tropical conditions.”

The 2008 stakeholders meeting on digitization of broadcasting in Africa

held in Abuja, Nigeria advised Nigerian entrepreneurs to participate in

the assembling or manufacturing of decoders locally. According to the

stakeholders, this will prevent outsiders from hijacking the advantage.

Eastman and Ferguson (2002:421) have a different fear for Africa as

far as the digitization of broadcasting is concerned. They said”local

producers in Africa have other problems too, such as training and

equipment.”

The Rapporteurs’ Report(2001:43)said “most of the broadcast

engineering staff in the continent are skilled in analogue broadcasting

and are often faced with the limitation of tight work schedules and

therefore cannot easily further their knowledge.” The report further

stated “part of the responsibility for a successful migration to digital

broadcasting will be a task a task for broadcast engineers.”

Eastman and Ferguson (2002:423) said “training needs to be on the

job on expensive broadcast quality equipment and with reliable

electricity.”In Africa, electricity and water are a mirage to majority of

the cities and rural areas let alone expensive digital equipment.

Smuts (2001:37) in the Rapporteurs’ Report (2001) confirms this

assertion by saying “African countries have not yet achieved universal

access for television. This is so because of the level of poverty in the

continent and the poor state of electricity in both the urban and rural

areas.”

Eastman and Ferguson (2002:500) round it up

for Africa by saying

at present, going digital demands a much more

complex infrastructure with expensive technical

characteristics that the public will have to pay

for. African policy makers have to step in to

cushion the effects of digitization on the mostly

poor populace.

2.3 NIGERIA AND THE DIGITIZATION OF BROADCASTING.

According to an article on the site of the Federal Ministry of Information

in 2009 titled, Standards of Digitization, the minister of information

Professor Dora Akunyili said ”there is no going back on the 2012

deadline for transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting

in line with international standards.”

www.nbc.gov.ng(2009) said “the transition from analogue to digital

broadcasting is in line with global trend.”

Onwubuariri (2009)further explained thus “our analogue equipment

will no longer comply with the rest of the world’s digital equipment and

our country may become a dumping ground for obsolete analogue

equipment.”

According to www.nbc.gov.ng(2009), “the president and commander in

chief of the federal republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua

approved the commencement of the transition from analogue to digital

broadcasting in Nigeria with effect from December 2007.

The Director General of the NBC, Yomi Bolarinwa said”by implication,

this has placed a heavy responsibility on us in the mass media in

educating and sensitizing Nigerians on the implications on

digitization.”

One of the points in the communiqué issued at the end of the 2008

stakeholders’ meeting on digitization in Abuja reads “a sustained, free

enlightenment campaign be mounted by all the broadcasting stations

in Nigeria to, sensitise the populace on the full implications of the

transiting from analogue to digital broadcasting.”

www.nbc.gov.ng (2008) said “the commission would embark on

serious public enlightenment programmes to educate Nigerians on the

proposed digitization.”

The NBC website stated that Nigeria has attained 98% digitization in

cable broadcasting. This could be attributed to the private sector

participation in the industry which was brought about by liberalization

policy. According to Onwubuariri (2008)” the more than 200 television

stations in the country currently use the analogue terrestrial mode of

broadcasting.”

Ogah(2007:193) has this position “Nigeria is still lagging behind in

technological advancement and cannot be said to compete favorably

with other countries of the world….”

SCITECH 360(2009) said “if Nigerian broadcast organizations are to

survive, remain relevant and effectively compete in the new order,

stakeholders need to ensure that Nigeria’s broadcast content be made

competitive especially in terms of quality.”

Ogah (2007:194) quoted Mbachu (2003) thus

since the development of technology and its

effective application are both functions of a given

society’s level of economic and social

development, the ability of the Nigerian mass

media to absorb and to deeply recent advances in

technology has been hampered by the country’s

continuing underdevelopment.

www.nbc.gov.ng (2009) said “there are no fewer than 24 million

television sets in Nigerian households today.”Looking at the country’s

population of about 140 million and considering the close to five

decades of television in Nigeria, one could say the figure is negligible.

2.3.1 HISTORY OF BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA.

A. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT IN TELEVISION

BROADCASTING.

In this segment, more reference will be made to television because the

technological advancements and challenges in broadcasting are more

on the side of television than radio.

According to Sotunmbi (1996:172-176), the first television station in

Nigeria was the western Nigeria television (WNTV) Ibadan which was

established in 1959. A few months after the commissioning of WNTV,

its sister radio station, western Nigeria Broadcasting service followed.

In 1960, the eastern Nigeria television (ENTV) was established. In

1962, Radio/Television Kaduna (RTK) came into being. In the same

year, the federal government owned television station; Nigerian

Television Service (NTS) was established.

As the administrative structure changed with the subdivision of the

country into smaller units in 1967, 1976, 1987 and 1991, so did

television stations proliferate, with nearly every new state asserting its

constitutional right to own and run a station.

According to Sotunmbi (1996:175) “the most significant development

in Nigerian broadcasting since its advent in 1932, is perhaps the

promulgation of Decree No.2 of 1992, which formally established the

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).”

This decree gave birth to the deregulation of the broadcasting

industry. Shortly after it came into being, the NBC issued fourteen

licenses to private to private operators, mostly domestic television

broadcast via terrestrial transmitters. Additional licenses were released

to several cable satellite companies for redistribution of signals of

foreign cable television stations. In 1995, the NBC granted the first

direct satellite television broadcast licence to a private electronic

media company, DAAR Communications limited, owners of the

commercially successful independent radio station, Ray Power. In

1996, a similar licence was approved for another electronic media

operator, Minaj Systems Limited.

B. HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSITION IN TELEVISION.

Television has undergone several technological changes since it came

into Nigeria in 1959. According to www.nbc .gov.ng, untill the 1960s;

television broadcasting in the country was in black and white. This was

because very few stations could afford the then global technology of

colour broadcasting. The situation changed in the 1970s when Benue

Plateau Television started colour television in Africa in 1975.gradually,

the colour television era evolved with a cutting edge technological

innovation that gave a new face to broadcasting.

Today, satellite, internet and broadband transmissions have made it

possible for television signals to be transmitted live from one part of

the world to another. A good number of Nigerian homes now watch

cable and satellite television.

According to www.ngrguardiannews.com (2009)”today, what is in

vogue is digital broadcasting and Nigeria with all her records in

broadcasting must not be left behind.”

According to SCITECH 360(2009),

digital television broadcast is either of two

formats, namely: High Definition Television

(HDTV) and Standard Definition Television

(SDTV).broadcasters choose the SDTV over the

HDTV because the SDTV format allows for easy

subdivision of digital television channels, thereby

providing multiple feeds of entirely different

programming on the same channel.

2.3.2 CHALLENGES OF DIGITIZATION.

The stakeholders meeting in 2008 observed that “the transition to

digital broadcasting has its challenges such as cost of provision of set

top boxes, paucity of digital sets, low level of content creation, poor

power supply and public ignorance of the implications of the

digitization.”

Here in Nigeria, there are so many challenges that the switch over

deadline will face. The following are some of the challenges of

digitization.

A.POWER

The official power generating capacity in Nigeria has been placed at

5000 mega watts (www.ngrguardiannews.com). Critics are of the

belief that the actual generating capacity is around 3000 mega

watts (www.allafrica.com). One of the points in the communiqué

that was issued at the end of the stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja in

2008 says “the government should find a quick solution to the

perennial power problem in the country to avoid jeopardising the

digitization process.”

For a country as large as Nigeria, the power generating capacity

that would be sufficiently meet the needs of the country stands at

above 16000 mega watts(www.allafrica.com). Hence, 5000 mega

watt is grossly inadequate.

B.TRAINING.

The FES/ITU/URTNA Symposium (2001) stated that “the most of the

broadcast engineering staff in Africa are skilled in analogue

television.” The report further went on to say “broadcast engineers

and technologists form a critical component in the design and

deployment of the migration strategy to digital broadcasting.”

A point in the communiqué issued at the end of the stakeholders’

meeting in Abuja in 2008 reads “the government and operators of

broadcasting stations in the country should commence without

delay, the training or retraining of their engineering staff on the

operation and maintenance of the incoming digital equipment.”

According to Sotunmbi (1996:180)”for the stations in Nigeria,

investment in new technology should be accomplished with regular

training and re orientation of staff to upgrade their skills and to

reduce the time drudgery of the process and improve efficiency.”

Obazele (1996:144) brought out the significance of training in

broadcasting by saying

“the issue of training or improving the workers is very essential.

Given the rapid expansion and development in the media industry,

the sky is the limit for those who have the training and expertise.”

Eastman and Ferguson (2002:200) said “broadcast engineers and

technologists in Africa are only knowledgeable in the handling and

maintenance of analogue equipment. this is a setback to the

digitization project in the continent.”

Obazele (1996:144) is concerned with engineers and technicians in

smaller broadcast stations scattered across Nigeria. He said “poor

educational background of some employees in most sections of the

broadcast industry has no doubt retarded the growth the media

would have enjoyed, hence, training is imperative.”

C.EQUIPMENT

Ogah (2007:193) said “however, Nigeria is still lagging behind in

technological advancement and the information and cultural

heritage across the globe.”

Sotunmbi (1996:179) decried the obsolete state of broadcast

equipment in Nigeria by saying “Nigerian crews, on foreign

assignment, often discover that their bulky, obsolete camera-chairs,

stand out in the crowd and are incompatible with modern editing

facilities available on location.”

Sotunmbi (1996:179) said

more significant are the rapid changes in

technology, from the vacuum tube to transistor

and finally to solid state. At every stage, Nigeria

and other technological backward countries

remained at the receiving end, hanging on to old

and obsolete equipment.

D. POVERTY.

According to Onwubuariri (2008), digital television manufacturers

estimate that a set top box will sell for between 80 dollars and 100

dollars (N10,000 and N12,000).While the price of digital television

set, a liquid crystal display(LCD) is in the range of 600 dollars and

2000 dollars(N70,800 and N236,000).Considering the level of

poverty in the country, most Nigerians might not own digital

television set on their own.

One of the recommendations at the end of the stakeholders’

meeting on digitization in Abuja says”the interest of the majority

poor people of Nigeria should be considered in the process of

digitization.”

Maduka, a former Director General of the Nigeria Television

Authority,(NTA ) while reacting to the issue on the digitization

deadline and the cost of digital television said ”these figures are

going to remain outside the capability of most Nigerians who

currently own regular analogue colour television

sets(www.ngrguardiannews.com).

SCITECH 360(2009) said

One of the greatest fears for consumers is the

financial implications of the switch over from

analogue to digital broadcasting. Questions abound

from how much various services and equipment will

cost to whether it will be within the purchasing power

of most consumers.

E. CONSUMER AWARENESS EDUCATION.

SCITECH 360(2009) said “Public understanding and acceptance are

crucial to the success of the migration from analogue to digital

broadcasting.” SADIBA Report (2009:21)said “ the consumers need

well designed, well timed and well funded information on the need

for and the benefits of the migration.”

The KENYA Report(2008:30) said “the content of consumer

education must include: the period of migration, switchover dates,

policy issues, financial implications, quality of services ,conversion,

reception problems, coverage and recording alternatives. Education

must also emphasize the benefits of the consumers.”

The need for the enlightenment was further emphasized by the ITU

Report (2006) “lack of understanding may cause consumers to

discard their analogue television sets.”Consumer enlightenment is

very important as it will get the consumers’ minds prepared for the

task ahead.

2.3.3 DIGITIZATION STANDARDS.

The ITU Report of (2006) gave the following standards as the required

standards for digital terrestrial television and digital terrestrial radio.

A.DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION.

According to Starks (2002:2) “digital terrestrial television is the

implementation of digital technology to provide a greater number of

channels, especially when using standard definition television or /and

better quality pictures.”

According to the ITU Report (2006), the main technology standards for

digital terrestrial television are:

i.Advanced Television System Commiter (ATSC) standard in North

America

ii. Integrated Digital Broadcasting Television (ISDB-T) Standard for

Japan.

iii. Digital Video Broadcasting Television(DVB-T)Standard for Africa.

B.DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL RADIO.

Digital terrestrial radio is commonly known as Digital Audio

Broadcasting (DAB).According to ITU Report (2006), the technology

used includes Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) globally in the medium

wave and short wave bands.

The ITU Report (2006) gave these as standards for digital terrestrial

radio.

i.In Band On Channel(IBOC) Standard for North America.

ii. Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-TSB) in Japan.

iii. EUREKA 147in Europe, Canada and parts of Asia.

iv. Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting(T-DAB) Standard in Asia.

The Kenya Report(2008:45) said”the T-DAB standard and its

introduction is not considered as a transition but as an introduction of

a new service as it is planned and designed to use 174-230 MHZ

frequency band.”

2.3.4 IMPLICATIONS OF DIGITIZATION.

Branston and Stafford (2006:5) said”the official switch off date for the

world’s analogue broadcasting has major consequences for several

media industries.”

The Kenya Report (2008:38) gave the following as the implications of

digitization of broadcasting in Africa.

1.The cost of acquiring digital equipment and television sets is beyond

the reach of the common man. This may lead to people not embracing

the policy. Unless the government comes in with funds to assist the

poor as it has been done by governments of developed countries like

the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

2. Lack of proper enlightenment may lead to people abandoning their

analogue sets.As SCITECH 360(2008) puts it “consumers need to be

assured that their analogue sets will continue to work after the switch

over deadline.”

3. Since digital broadcasting will include multi faceted services through

satellite, terrestrial television, cable, broad band among other forms,

there are tendencies of consumer exploitations through unfair market

practices.

4. As stated by Craft et al (2001:284),”currently, there is not enough

spectrum space in each AM and FM frequency assignment to allow

digital broadcasting.” The Kenya Report (2008:38) said “neighbouring

African countries must have to go in to agreement so as to prevent

digital channels in one country affecting existing analogue stations in

other countries.”

5. Given that quite a number of countries are in the process of

implementing the digital switch over, there is real danger of the old

television sets and sub standard antennae and aerials being shipped

from countries abroad to Nigeria. There by turning the country in to a

dumping ground for obsolete analogue equipment.

6. From an environmental point of view, some of the equipment that

might be discarded by consumers due to ignorance and the obsolete

ones shipped from overseas might constitute environmental hazard to

Nigerians.

2.3.5 ADVANTAGES OF DIGITIZATION.

The Kenya Report (2008:41) gave the following as the advantages of

digitization.

i.Audience have a greater variety of programmes to choose from.

ii. Audience may access value added services or multimedia content as

digital broadcasting also caters for supplementary and/or

complementary data content. Therefore, audiences would be able to

access additional interactive services e.g. TV guides, news and

information, educational content and games.

iii. Better quality of pictures and sound.

iv. Content enhancement for people with disabilities.

v. Easier access to regional broadcasts with stronger local content in

terms of geographic and language distribution.

vi. Simple installation and operation. No dish antenna required.

2.3.6 DISADVANTAGES OF DIGITIZATION.

The Kenya report (2008:43) gave the following as the disadvantages of

digitization.

i.High cost receiver sets and equipment.

ii. No perceived advantages from the general public for the additional

cost. Therefore,the public awareness campaign is likely to be costly

due to the quality of awareness as well as the length of the awareness

campaign.

iii. A poor audience take up has a negative influence on the success of

the digital broadcasting.

A REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES RELATED TO DIGITIZATION

According to www.itu.int(2006),prior to the June 16 2006 conference

that led to the adoption of the 2015 deadline for worldwide digitization,

the ITU held a conference with the aim of findings ways to improve the

quality of broadcasting in the world. The report stated that ”the first

session of this conference (RRC-04) took place in May 2004 and

established a solid, comprehensive and technical basis for the

agreement, including the framework for the intersessional studies.”The

report quoted Pham Nhu Hai of the Radio Communication Bureau at

ITU thus “digital technologies are now transmitting high resolution

images of the 2006 soccer world cup from Germany to fans around the

world...”

The head of the ITU research team of 2006,Kavouss Arasteh said “the

process of digitization is a complex process comprising voluminous

computational calculations and data processing tasks, electronic

document handling and the use of five international languages.”

According to Starks (2004), a research on digitization, conducted by

the British Government in 2004.The project was called the Digital

Television Project and was headed by Michael Starks. The research

considered the following indices while trying to assess the level of

readiness of the United Kingdom for digital television. The indices are:

manpower training, economy, consumer education, content

development, digital technology and legal framework.

In 2001, the South African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA)

while assessing the process of digitization in South Africa. It added two

more indices to the six that was later used by Britain. The addition are:

power supply and level of education of the audience .The research

discovered that as of 2001, South Africa scored less than 1 percent in

terms of digitization.

A follow up research conducted by the organisation in 2011 found out

that by December 2008, South Africa will be 75 per cent ready for

digitization. The research pointed out consumer education and content

development as key areas that must be improved upon.

According to a research conducted by the Federal Communication

Commission (FCC) in the United States of America in 2008,”by January

2009, the USA will be 70 percent ready for digitization. By June 2009, it

will be 100 percent ready.”

Research conducted in Kenya by a team of experts from the ITU

revealed that Kenya is committed to its switchover time table. The

International online Journal of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (2008)

said “Kenya is 40 percent ready. There is no doubt that it will be one of

the first African countries to switchover completely from analogue to

digital broadcasting by 2015.”

In Nigeria, the report of the presidential task force on digitization of

broadcasting was submitted to the Federal Government in July,

2009.The report is still unavailable for public consumption.

2.4 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK.

Marshall McLuhan’s Technological Determinism theory is the

supporting theory for this study. This is because the transition from

analogue to digital broadcasting suites the provisions of the theory.

According to Ching (2006:2),”though radio and television still place

themselves among the world’s most widely influential forms of media

today, sophisticated ones have surfaced in the past decade.”

Ching (2006:2) said” according to McLuhan, the dominant media of an

era determine the basis of social organisation.

McQuail (2005:234) gave the following as the key points in the

Technological Determinism theory.

1. Communication technology is fundamental to society.

2. Each technology has a bias to particular communication forms,

contents and uses.

3. The sequence of invention and application of communication

technology influences social change.

4. Communication revolution leads to social revolutions.

Ching (2006:1) said “according to Marshall McLuhan, the medium is

the message.”

Grint (1991:60) said “technological determinism considers technology

to be an exogenous and autonomous development which coerces and

determines social and economic organisations and relationships.”

Haralambos et al (2004:629) explained further saying “it therefore has

a direct impact on such things as the extent to which workers are

alienated, and class relationship in society as a whole.

It therefore means that the transition from analogue to digital

broadcasting is a further revolution in the broadcast media. Hence, this

transition will enhance better reception and understanding of the

messages that the audiences receive through the digital media.

REFERENCES.

Anaeto,S. G et al (2008) Models of Theories of Communication.

Maryland: Concept Publications.(pp190-196)

Abbas, J. (2009) Nigeria: Transiting from Analogue Pains to Digital

Gains: http//www.allafrica.com.

Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2006) The Media Students’ Book.

London: Routledge. (pp 5-500)

Ching, A (2006) Communication Theories: Technological determinism:

www.wongkeenhing.com.

(pp 1-2)

Craft, J.E et al(2001) Electronic Media. California: Wardsworth.(p 284)

Dare, O and Uyo, A (eds) (1996) Journalism in Nigeria: Issues and

Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo Compass.

Grint, K (1991) The Sociology of Work: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Polity Press (p 60)

Eastman, S.T and Ferguson, D. A (2002) Broadcast/Cable/Web

Programming Strategies and Practices. Belmont:Wardsworth.(220-252)

Fidler, R(1997) Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media. California:

Pire Forge Press.(p 89)

Haralambos, M et al (2004) Sociology, Themes and Perspectives.

London: Collins.(pp 624-899)

Mcquail, D (2000) Mcquail’s Theory of Mass Communication. London:

Sage. (pp 16-34)

Mcquail, D (2005) Mcquail’s Theory of Mass Communication. London:

Sage. (p 234)

Martini, D. (2001) Preparing for Digital Broadcasting:

http//www.itu.int/digitization conference in Kenya

Ogah, I. A (2007) Re-appraisal of The Development Media Theory and

Its Implications to the Nigerian Broadcast Technology in Globalizating

World in Nwosu, I. E and Soola, D.E. Communication in Global ICT and

Ecosystem Perspectives-Insight from Nigeria . Enugu: Precision. p(153)

Nwosu, I.E. and Soola, O.E (eds) (2007) Communication in Global ICTs

and Ecosystem Perspectives-Insight From Nigeria. Enugu: Precision.

Obazele, P(1996) Challenges of Radio Journalism and Management of

Broadcasting in Nigeria in Dare, O and Uyo, A Journalism in Nigeria:

issues and Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo Compass.(pp 142-144)

Onwubuariri, P (2008) Television Digitization: What Impact on

Nigerians? : http//www.triumphnews.com/tel2372008.

Potter, J.W (2005) Media Literacy. Thousand Oaks: Sage.(p 185)

SADIBA Report (2002) Analogue to Digital Migration Strategy for South

Africa : http//www.sadiba.co.za

SADIBA Report (2009) Analogue to Digital Migration Strategy for South

Africa: http//www.sadiba.co.za

Spears, W (2009) Digitization of Broadcasting: http//ellies.com (p40)

Smuts, K (2001) Digital Broadcasting Advisory Board in South Africa in

Rapporteurs’ Report(2001):http//www.itu.int.(p36)

Sotunmbi, B (1996) The Challenges of Television Journalism in Dare, O

and Uyo, A. Journalism in Nigeria: issues and Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo

Compass.(172-176)

Starks, M (2004) The Digital Television Project:

http//www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk.(pp12-43)

The OFCOM’S Report (2004):http//www.ofcom.com/digital broadcasting

in Africa

The SCITECH Report (2008)Digitalization of Broadcasting in Nigeria:

http//www.scitech.com/digital terrestrial broadcasting.

The Rapporteurs’ Report (2001):http//www.itu.int

The ITU Report (2006):http//www.itu.int/digital terrestrial broadcasting

The ITU Report (2009):http//www.itu.int/ict/regulation toolkits

The Kenya Report (2008) Report of the Task Force on Migration of

Terrestrial Television from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting in Kenya:

http//www.cck.go.ke/migration_digital tv

The Tanzania Report (2009)Report on Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting

in Tanzania: http//www.tcra.go.tz/digital broadcasting

http//ministryofpower.gov.ng/phcn.

http//ministryofinformaion.gov.ng/standards/digitalization

http//www.nbc.gov/road to digitization

http//en.wikipedia.org/digitization

http//en.wikipedia.org/digital terrestrial broadcasting

http//www.allafrica.com/stakeholders’ communiqué on digitization of

broadcasting in Nigeria http//www.ngrguardiannews.com/implications

of digitization in Nigeria

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION.

Haralambos et al (2004:864) said “methodology is concerned with both

the detailed research methods through which data are collected, and

the more general philosophies upon which the collection and analysis

of data are based.”This chapter is a description of the methodology

used in this research.

3.1 METHODOLOGY.

The method of this study was survey using a questionnaire and depth

interviews. Dominick and Wimmer (1987:155) stated that “a case

study uses as many data sources as possible to investigate

systematically an individual, group, organization or event.”Data for the

case study were gathered through in depth interviews. In depth

interview was adopted because it gives the respondent more room to

respond to questions. This because the questions in the interview were

mostly open ended questions.

Haralambos (2004:899) described questionnaire research thus” in

questionnaire research, the same questions are usually given to

respondents in the same order so that the same information can be

collected from every member of the sample.”The questionnaire

method was chosen because it is the most convenient way to gather

information from a large number of respondents on the same topic.

The two methods were chosen in order to have a balanced data

gathering process that will involve the broadcast stations and the

public. This is because the digitization switchover will affect both the

broadcast stations and the general public.

3.2 INSTRUMENT DESIGN.

Ten questions related to the management aspects of digitization were

typed and given to 1 management staff each from the eight radio and

television stations. The researcher decided to give just one

management staff per station because since digitization is a policy of

the stations, there will not be conflicting reports on the policies of a

station by more than one staffs of the same station. Blank spaces were

left for the interviewees to write their responses.

Similarly, ten questions related to the technical aspects of digitization

were typed and given to one technical staff each from the eight radio

and television stations to respond to. The choice of one technical staff

each from the stations is based on the same reason for the selection of

the management staffs.

With respect to the questionnaire, 24 questions were drafted in a

questionnaire for 300 respondents to respond to. The 300 respondents

were chosen through systematic random sampling. The first 19

questions in the questionnaire were on digitization, the level of

awareness of the people about digitization and the implications of

digitization. The last five questions were on the respondents’ bio-data.

The respondents were given the questionnaires and allowed to answer

the questions without any injection of opinion by the researcher.

3.3 SAMPLIING METHOD.

Because of the nature of the research, Radio Unilag, EKO FM and FRCN

were selected through purposive sampling. Radio Unilag was selected

because it is the only community radio in Lagos.EKO FM was chosen

because it is a state government owned radio station while FRCN was

sampled because it is owned by the Federal government. Brila FM was

because it is privately owned. It was chosen from the other private

radio stations through random sampling.

Similarly, in the case of the television stations, NTA Lagos and LTV

were selected through purposive sampling because of their status as

Federal and State government owned television stations. Silverbird TV

and MITV were selected through random sampling of all the private

stations in Lagos. For the list of all the radio and television stations in

Lagos, refer to the appendix.

The three hundred respondents were selected through systematic

random sampling technique. Sixteen staff of the stations wsere

selected by management.

3.4 POPULATION OF THE STUDY.

The population of the study include: the entire people in Lagos, the

entire management and technical staff of the four radio stations (Radio

Unilag, EKO FM, FRCN and Brila FM) and the whole management and

technical staff of the four television stations (NTA Lagos, LTV, Silverbird

TV and MITV)

3.5 SAMPLE SIZE.

The sample size of the research is three hundred out of the population

of Akoka residents. Akoka was chosen because of the fact that many

Federal institutions which will bring people from all over the country

around there. Also, the closeness of the area to the researcher will give

him the opportunity to do a thorough work in terms of the

questionnaire distribution.1 management staff and 1 technical staff

from the eight broadcast stations that were sampled. This brings the

sample size to three hundred and sixteen (316).

3.6 METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE.

Three hundred copies of the questionnaire were distributed to

residents of Akoka in Lagos state. The 300 respondents were selected

through random sampling of the streets in Akoka. For the street map of

Akoka, refer to appendix

Asika(1991:42)said “random sampling method is the most

fundamental method of probability sampling. Random sampling uses

the principle of randomization which is a procedure of giving every

subject in a population an equal chance of appearing in the selection.”

Thirty streets were selected at random out of the existing streets in

Akoka. For the list of streets in Akoka, refer to appendix. Akoka has a

population of about 150 thousand (www.lagosian.com) It is located in

Lagos mainland Local Government. The street map of Lagos Mainland

is provided in the appendix of this research. Similarly, a list of all the

streets in Akoka and the 30 sampled streets are also provided in the

appendix of this research.10 copies of questionnaire were then

distributed to residents of each of the streets. The sampling interval

was determined by the number of houses on each of the streets. In

situations where the number of houses on a street was insufficient, a

street with a larger number of houses was used as a replacement.

REFERENCES

Asika, N. (1991) Research Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences.

Owerri: Longman(pp 42-43)

Dominick, J.R and Wimmer, R.D (1987) Mass Media Research: An

Introduction. California: Wardsworth(p155)

Haralambos, M et al(2004) Sociology, Themes and Perspectives.

London: Collins(pp 864-899)

Rudestam,K.E and Newton,R.R (2001) Surveying Your Dissertation:A

Contemporary Guide to Content and Process.Thousand Oaks: Sage

(pp75-90)

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.

4.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is an analysis of the data collected for this research and

the discussion of findings. It also provides answers to the research

questions and objectives of the research. It involves the use of

statistical methods in doing the analysis. It is divided into two:

preliminary analysis and discussion of findings in line with the research

questions.

4.1 PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

A. PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS IN THE SURVEY

A total of 300 copies of questionnaire were administered to

respondents. Out of these, 252 copies were returned to the researcher.

Table 13 is a breakdown of the profile of the respondents used in the

survey.

TABLE 13: PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS IN THE SURVEY.

CATEGORIES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

AGE

18-21

22-27

26

46

10.3

18.3

28-33

34-39

40-45

46-50

OTHER

162

28

40

32

19

64.3

11.1

15.9

12.7

7.5

TOTAL 252 100

SEX

MALE

FEMALE

143

109

56.7

43.3

TOTAL 252 100

MARITAL STATUS

SINGLE

MARRIED

DIVORCED

WIDOWED

62

173

10

7

24.6

68.7

4.0

2.8

TOTAL 252 100

EDUC.BGRD

NONFORMAL EDU.

FLSC

13

40

5.2

15.9

WASC/WAEC/NECO

ND/NCE

HND/BSC

OTHER

81

60

53

5

32.1

32.1

21.0

2.0

TOTAL 252 100

OCCUPATION

STUDENT

APPLICANT

UNEMPLOYED

PUBLIC OFFICER

TRADER/BUS.PERSON

HOUSEWIFE

OTHER

52

32

24

74

54

13

3

20.6

12.7

9.5

29.4

21.4

5.2

1.2

TOTAL 252 100

MONTHLY INCOME

BELOW N7500

N7500-N20000

N21000-40000

N41000-70000

121

42

35

30

48.0

16.7

13.9

11.9

N70000 ABOVE 24 9.5

TOTAL 252 100

B.THE MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION

The mean and standard deviation of the age of the respondents is as

given below

AGE F X FX FX2

16-21 26 18.5 481 8898.5

22-27 46 24.5 1127 27611.5

28-33 162 30.5 4941 1507005

34-39 28 36.5 1022 37303

40-45 40 42.5 1700 72250

46-51 32 48.5 1552 75272

OTHERS 19 75.5 1434.5 108304.8

∑F=353 ∑FX=12257.

5

∑F

X2=1761372.8

Mean = ∑FX/∑F

Mean=12257.5/353

Mean =34.7

Standard Deviation=61.5.

C.ACCESS TO THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

The respondents in the survey were asked if they have access to the

electronic media. All the 252 respondents said they have access to the

electronic media.

D. LEVEL OF AWARENESS ON DIGITIZATION.

Out of the 252 respondents whose questionnaires were returned, 73 of

them said they have heard of the digitization of broadcasting while 179

respondents said they have not heard of digitization.

TABLE 1: LEVEL OF AWARENESS ON DIGITIZATION OF

BROADCASTING?

RESPONSE

FREQUENCY

PERCENTAG

E

Aware 73 28.97

Not Aware 179 71.03

TOTAL

(n=252)

100

E. THE MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH THE RESPONDENTS HEARD

OF

DIGITIZATION.

Out of the 73 respondents that agreed to be aware of what digitization

of broadcasting is all about, 15 of them said they heard about it

through the radio, 27 said they heard about it through the television

while 31 of them said they heard through the pages of the

newspapers.

TABLE 2: MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH RESPONDENTS HEARD

ABOUT DIGITIZATION

MEDIUM FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

RADIO 15 20.5

TELEVISION 27 37.0

NEWSPAPER 31 42.5

TOTAL (n=73) 100

F. FEASIBILTY OF THE SWITCHOVER DATE

When asked about the feasibility of Nigeria’s switchover deadline of

2012, 5 of the respondents strongly agree that the deadline is feasible,

11 of the respondents agree that the deadline is feasible, 10 of the

respondents disagree that the 2012 deadline will not be met while 27

of the respondents strongly disagree that the deadline will not be

feasible.

TABLE 3: RESPONDENTS’ OPINIONS ON COMPLETE

SWITCHOVER BY 2012

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

STRONGLY AGREE 5 6.8

AGREE 11 15.1

INDIFFERENT 20 27.4

DISAGREE 10 13.7

STRONGLY DISAGREE 27 37.0

TOTAL(n=73) 100

G. EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNMENT IN CREATING AWARENESS

ON DIGITIZATION

13 of the respondents said government’s awareness campaign is

highly effective, 23 of the respondents said it is effective. 13 of them

said it is moderately effective, 83 said the campaign is ineffective while

119 of the respondents said it is highly ineffective.

TABLE 4: PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT IN CREATING AWARENESS ON

DIGITIZATION

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

HIGHLY EFFECTIVE 14 5.56

EFFECTIVE 23 9.13

MODERATELY

EFFECTIVE

17 6.75

NOT EFFECTIVE 83 32.94

HIGHLY NOT

EFFECTIVE

115 45.63

TOTAL(n=252) 100

H. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BROADCAST MEDIA IN CREATING

AWARENESS.

Out of the 252 respondents, 11 of them said the awareness campaign

of the broadcast media on digitization is highly effective, 15 said the

campaign is effective, 27 of the respondents said the campaign is

moderately effective, 91 of them said the campaign is not effective

while 108 of them said the campaign is highly not effective.

TABLE 5: PERFORMANCE OF MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS IN CREATING AWARENESS ON

DIGITIZATION

RESPONSE

FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

HIGHLY

EFFECTIVE

11 4.4

EFFECTIVE 15 6.0

MODERATELY

EFFECTIVE

27 10.7

NOT EFFECTIVE 91 36.1

HIGHLY NOT

EFFECTIVE

108 42.9

TOTAL(n=252) 100

I.FACTORS CHALLENGING THE SUCCESS OF THE 2012 DEADLINE

In response to the question on factors that will hinder the success of

the transition period, 25 respondents said lack of trained personnel,22

of the respondents said lack of equipment, 8 said consumer education,

65 said poor power supply, 126 said poverty while 6 mentioned other

factors.

TABLE 6: FACTORS THAT MIGHT HINDER THE SUCCESS OF DIGITIZATION.

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

LACK OF TRAINING 25 9.9

LACK OF EQUIPMENT 22 8.7

CONSUMER

EDUCATION

8 3.2

POOR POWER SUPPLY 65 25.8

POVERTY 126 50.0

OTHERS 6 2.4

TOTAL(n=252) 100

J.THE COST OF THE SET TOP BOXES

When asked about how affordable the set top boxes are to Nigerian

consumers at the cost of N10000 per box,6 of the respondents said it

is highly affordable, 15 said it is affordable, 47 of the respondents were

indifferent.83 of the respondents said it is not affordable while 101

respondents said it is highly not affordable.

TABLE 7: OPINION OF RESPONDENTS ON THE COST OF SET TOP BOXES AT N10,000

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

HIGHLY AFFORDABLE 6 2.4

AFFORDABLE 15 5.9

INDIFFERENT 47 18.7

NOT AFFORDABLE 83 32.9

HIGHLY NOT

AFFORDABLE

101 40.1

TOTAL(n=252) 100

K.GOVERNMENT’S SUBSIDY ON DIGITIZATION

In response to the question on how the government can assist to make

digitization people friendly, 70 of the respondents said government

should buy set top boxes for everybody, 82 of them said the

government should place a subsidy on the price of the set top boxes,

63 of the respondents said government should improve electricity

supply in the country, 30 said the government should educate the

consumers.

TABLE 8: METHODS THAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO TO MAKE DIGITIZATION PEOPLE

FRIENDLY

METHOD FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

BUY SET TOP BOXES 70 27.8

SUBSIDIZE SET TOP

BOXES

82 32.5

IMPROVE ELECTRICITY 59 23.4

EDUCATE PEOPLE 30 11.9

OTHERS 11 4.4

TOTAL(n=252) 100

L. BENEFITS OF DIGITIZATION.

Responding to the question on whether digitization is beneficial to the

society, 13 of the respondents strongly agree that it is beneficial, 10

agree that it is beneficial, 95 were neutral over the matter, 84 disagree

with the statement while 50 strongly disagree.

TABLE 9: OPINION OF REPONDENTS TO IF DIGITIZATION OF BROADCASTING IS OF

BENEFIT TO SOCIETY

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

STRONGLY AGREE 13 5.2

AGREE 10 4.0

INDIFFERENT 95 37.7

DISAGREE 84 33.3

STRONGLY DISAGREE 50 19.8

TOTAL(n=252) 100

M.CONVENIENCE OF THE 2012 DEADLINE

213 of the respondents said the deadline is not convenient while 39

said the deadline is okay. Out of the 213 respondents that said the

deadline is not convenient, 27 of them suggested that the deadline

should be in 2013, 31 of them suggested 2014, 45 of them said 2015 is

more convenient. 45 of them said 2015 is better while 114 of them

said it should be after 2015.

TABLE 10: SUGGESTED DATES FOR THE DIGITAL SWITCHOVER IN NIGERIA

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

2013 27 12.7

2014 31 14.6

2015 42 19.7

BEYOND 2015 113 53.1

TOTAL(n=213) 100

N. NATURE OF THE SWITCHOVER.

While responding to how they would want the switchover to be done,

47 of the respondents want the switchover to be done, 47 of the

respondents want the switchover to be done state by state, 52 of them

are of the opinion that it should be done simultaneously, 51 of them

are of the opinion that Lagos should switchover first before other

states, 93 are of the opinion that each state should be allowed to

switchover when it wants. 9 of the respondents have other opinions.

TABLE 11: SUGGESTED WAYS OF SWITCHING OVER TO DIGITAL BROADCASTING IN

NIGERIA

WAYS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

STATE BY STATE 47 18.7

SIMULTENOUSLY 52 20.6

LAGOS FIRST 51 20.2

EACH STATION TO

ITSELF

93 36.9

OTHERS 9 3.6

TOTAL(n=252) 100

O. LOCAL MANUFACTURE OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT.

33 of the respondents strongly support that the digital equipments be

manufactured in Nigeria, 36 support this opinion, 49 are neutral on the

issue, and 50 do not support the opinion while 84 strongly do not

support the opinion.

TABLE 12 OPINION ON WHETHER GOVERNMENT SHOULD ALLOW FOR LOCAL

MANUFACTURE OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT

OPINION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

STRONGLY SUPPORT 33 13.10

SUPPORT 36 14.29

NEUTRAL 49 19.44

DON’T SUPPORT 50 19.84

STRONGLY DON’T

SUPPORT

84 33.33

TOTAL(n==252) 100

4.2 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.

RQ1.What are the requirements for digitization?

This discussion is in response to the first research question(what are

the requirements for digitization?).For a station to be fully digitized, a

broadcast station needs a digital transmitter in addition to the already

existing digital equipment in the studios. For the sake of good

resolution in picture and sound, a station should acquire high definition

digital equipments especially the transmitters. The table below shows

the type of transmitters in each of

TABLE 17: STATIONS AND TYPE OF TRANSMITTERS IN USE

STATION ANALOG DIGITAL HIGH

DEFINITION

DIGITAL

SILVERBIRD YES

NTA YES

LTV YES

MITV YES

UNILAG FM YES

EKO FM YES

METRO FM YES

BRILA FM YES

SOURCE: SILVERBIRD, NTA, LTV, UNILAG FM, MITV, EKO FM, MERO FM, BRILA FM

None of the stations has a high definition digital transmitter. The good

news however is that under a well organized government policy, each

station does not need to have its own transmitter as far as digitization

is concerned. The government collaborates with stakeholders and

provides high definition transmitters at strategic locations in the

country to serve broadcast stations within the area of capture of the

transmitters. The challenge here is that the government is not showing

some degree of commitment and the transmitters are very expensive.

On the part of the public, to enjoy digital broadcasting, a person needs

a digital receiver for a radio and a set top box for a television. The set

top box (which serves as a decoder) in the case of television can be

used with the old television set.

RQ 2. Do Nigerians have the skilled manpower to run the

digital equipment?

From the responses obtained from the interviews, it was discovered

that only government owned media houses(NTA,LTV,EKO FM, METRO

FM,UNILAG FM) send their technical staff on training. Other private

stations usually employ people who have acquired the skills already.

For such stations, the staff can only go for short workshops. On the

skills of their technical staff, the table below gives a representation of

each station as presented by their technical and management staff.

TABLE 16: LEVEL OF COMPETENCE OF TECHNICAL STAFF.

STATION VERY

SKILLFUL

L

SKILLFUL

L

CANT

SAY

FAIRLY

SKILLFUL

L

NOT

SKILLFUL

L

LTV YES

NTA YES

SILVERBIR

D

YES

MITV YES

EKO FM YES

UNILAG

FM

YES

METRO FM YES

BRILA FM YES

SOURCE: SILVERBIRD, NTA, LTV, UNILAG FM, MITV, EKO FM, MERO FM, BRILA FM

All the stations indicated that their staff are skillful in handling digital

equipment, however, three stations (NTA,SILVERBIRD and UNILAG FM)

indicated that their staff are very skillful. This is a positive response to

the second research question which says, do Nigerian broadcast

stations have the skilled manpower to run the digital equipment? This

response could be due to the fact that broadcast stations in the

country have been using some form of digital technology before now.

Handling of high definition digital equipment requires more training

which the stations must have to take note of.

RQ 3. What is the level of awareness of Nigerians regarding

the implications of digitization?

Based on the views of respondents in this research, 79 of them said

the media organizations were inefficient in their awareness campaign

on digitization. From the interviews conducted with staff of the

broadcast stations under study, all the stations agreed that they have

no campaigns on digitization on air now. However, they all said they

have plans to step up their campaigns very soon. This campaign will

take the form of advertisements, talk shows and jingles depending on

the station. Below is a breakdown of the campaigns by the stations

TABLE 14: STATIONS AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON DIGITIZATION

STATION CAMPAIGNS ON AIR

NOW

CAMPAIGNS IN THE

PIPELINE

NTA LAGOS NONE INTENSIVE

ADVERTISEMENTS

MITV NONE ADVERTISEMENTS

SILVERBIRD NONE ADVERTISEMENTS &

TALKSHOWS

LTV NONE ADVERTISEMENTS

UNILAG FM NONE JINGLES

BRILA FM NONE JINGLES

EKO FM NONE JINGLES

METRO FM NONE JINGLES

SOURCE: SILVERBIRD, NTA, LTV, UNILAG FM, MITV, EKO FM, MERO FM, BRILA FM

The table above shows how unserious the government and broadcast

stations are over the issue of awareness campaign for digitization.

Awareness campaign is not something that should be done in a rush

especially for a country like Nigeria where illiteracy abounds. In

response to the third research question which seeks to find out the

level of awareness of Nigerians on the implications of digitization, the

level of awareness is low. A research conducted by the Federal

Communication Commission (FCC) in 2005 prior to the commencement

of awareness campaign on digitization in the USA shows that 63

percent of the stakeholders said public service announcements, such

as television advertisements should be the primary form of

communication. The table below shows some countries and when they

started intensive awareness campaigns on digitization.

TABLE 15: SELECTED COUNTRIES AND YEAR OF COMMENCEMENT OF INTENSIVE

AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON DIGITIZATION

COUNTRY YEAR

GERMANY 2003

UNITED KINGDOM 2003

MAURITIUS 2005

SOUTH AFRICA 2008

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2005

SOURCE: FCC, DIGITALTV PROJECT, DIGITAL DZONGA AND MCML

COST OF DIGITIZATION.

Digitization is a very expensive venture, little wonder that the

government of countries is involved in the digitization of their

respective countries. This year, it cost the federal ministry of

information about 600 million naira to acquire high definition digital

equipments for the broadcast of the FIFA U-17 world cup tournament

(www.ngrguardiannews.com). The Kenyan government is setting aside

1.5 million dollars to subsidize the cost of set top of boxes for the

public (www.allafrica.com). The United Kingdom is setting aside 803

million pounds (www.digitaltv.co.uk)

For consumers, the least cost is around 10,000 naira for a set top box.

To obtain a full digital package, a consumer will spend between 70,000

and 236,000 naira (Onwubiri, 2008:1). The tradition in other countries

is that governments subsidizes the cost of the set top boxes and also

encourage the local manufacture of such equipments. The USA, the

UK, South Africa, Mauritius are examples of countries that have taken

this step already.

RQ 4. What are the implications of digitization for the entire

society?

Apart from the benefits in terms of crystal clear reception of broadcast

signals, digitization can be a money spinner if used properly. The cost

benefit analysis conducted in the United Kingdom shows that digital

switchover in the UK will result in quantifiable benefits in the region of

to 2 million pounds (www.digitaltv.co.uk). This implies that digitization

has a positive implication on the economy of Nigeria.

NATURE OF THE MIGRATION.

The United Kingdom, South Africa and Mauritius have adopted the

stage by stage migration whereby one region migrates at a time until

full migration is attained in 2015. These countries have designed road

maps for the digitization of broadcasting and they have followed the

map religiously. Unfortunately, Nigeria is yet to come up with such a

road map.

STATE OF READINESS FOR DIGITIZATION

The response of most of the staff of the broadcast stations interviewed

favours the fact that the country is ready for digitization. This

contradicts the views of the respondents in the questionnaire who said

the country is not yet ready for digitization by 2012. What this implies

is that it could be possible to achieve digitization in the stations but it

might not be so with the consumers because of the low level of

awareness and the level of poverty in the country.

TABLE 18: CONVENIENCE OF 2012 DEADLINE FOR NIGERIAN BROADCAST STATIONS

CONVENIENCE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

YES 11 68.8

NO 5 31.2

TOTAL(n=16) 100

RQ 5. What is the level of preparedness of each of the selected

stations?

South Africa intends to achieve 75 percent digitization by 2011. If we

make a comparism between Nigeria and south Africa in terms the

following indices: awareness campaign, digital test transmission,

subsidy on digitization, adherence to the road map, rating each of the

indices on a scale of five, the score is as shown in the table below.

TABLE 19: RATING SOUTH AFRICA AND NIGERIA

COUNTR

Y

AWARENES

S

TEST SUBSIDY AWARENES

S

TOTAL

SOUTH

AFRICA

1 0 O 2 3

NIGERIA 4 5 5 5 19

From this result, South Africa scored 19 out of 20 while Nigeria scored

3 out of 20. By projection, if South Africa with 19 points intends to

achieve 75 percent digitization by 2011, we could use this to project

Nigeria’s state by 2011.

19=75%

3=x%

19x=3(75)

X=225/19

X=11.8%

This result shows that with the present situation of lack of concern to

the digitization process, Nigeria will only achieve less than 15%

digitization by 2012.

REFERENCES

Abbas, J. (2009, 07 3). All Africa. Retrieved 10 12, 2009, from All Africa:

http://www.allafrica.com

Dzonga dzonga (2009, 10 7). Retrieved 10 18, 2009, from digital

dzonga: http://www.digitaldzonga.co.za

fcc (2009, 7 21). dtv is coming. Retrieved 10 18, 2009, from federal

communication commission: http://www.dtv.gov

Onubuariri, P. (2008, 12 15). triumph news. Retrieved 9 21, 2009, from

triumph news: http://www.triumphnews.com/tel2372008

Onuorah, M (2009) Federal Government Procures HDTV Equipment.

The Guardian, 15 july 2009:p1-2

Starks, M. (2004, 3 22). digital tv project. Retrieved 9 18, 2009, from

http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONSTRAINTS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 SUMMARY

This study looked at the level of preparedness of Nigerian broadcast

stations to the digitization deadline of 2012. Lagos was used as a case

study because of the concentration of broadcast stations in the state.

The study came out of the fears that the global digitization deadline is

just by the corner and the level of preparedness on Nigeria is not

certain. Since the broadcast media is man’s best companion in terms

of entertainment, information and enlightenment, Nigeria cannot afford

to be marooned by the telecommunication world.

Ahead of any consideration of digital switchover policies, there are

preconditions that need to be fulfilled in order to trigger normal

competitive market led mechanisms. These include: adequate

spectrum allocation, a workable roadmap and a coordinated market

approach to content/network/equipment providers including

campaigns. The issue of consumer education is a serious problem

because consumers are not grounded in the technicalities of

digitization.

The study used Marshall McLuhan’s theory of technological

determinism as its supporting theory. The media today has undergone

series of transformations owing to the dynamic nature of technology.

Each time there is a transformation; people will want to be part of the

new technology.

The methodology of this study is a combination of survey and depth

interview.300 copies of questionnaire were administered but 252 were

returned to the researcher. Interview questions were given to the

technical and management staff of the selected broadcast stations

(UNILAG FM, EKO FM, BRILA FM, METRO FM, SILVERBIRD, NTA, LTV and

MITV). Statistical methods were used in the analysis of data.

5.2 CONSTRAINTS.

The major constraint in this research is the difficulties encountered

during the compilation of the literature review. Another constraint is

the fact that any of the materials on the internet not free. Time is also

another constraint.

5.3 CONCLUSION

Although digital transmissions are more cost effective than the

analogue, a country cannot simply switch off its analogue

transmissions and replace it with digital transmission the next day.

Most countries have come up with policies that will allow for the

analogue and digital programmes. This process is known as

simulcasting.

In Nigeria, based on the findings of this research, it is obvious that the

switchover will end up being implemented in three phases. The first

phase is that of broadcast stations changing their transmitters to high

definition transmitters and studio equipment. If the funds are ready,

this phase can be achievable by 2012.

The second phase of the switchover is from the consumers. There is no

awareness campaign on ground and with the level of illiteracy in the

country; government has a Herculean task ahead of it. Once again, if

there is an intensive campaign from next year, the level of awareness

will rise by 2012.

The last phase of the switchover will be that of getting the digital

receiver and set top boxes. This is where there is a problem because

majority of the consumers are living in poverty. Hence, by 2012 this

phase might not be achieved unless the government intervenes by

subsidizing the cost of digitization.

Currently, analogue broadcasting is protected from interference; this

protection will stop globally in 2015. It is therefore necessary that the

migration be taken seriously and government should draw up a

workable road map for the migration. If 2012 is no realizable, Nigeria

can work towards the ITU deadline of 2015.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The government should copy other countries like the United States

of America, the United Kingdom and Mauritius by subsidizing the cost

of digitization so as to make it more acceptable by the people.

2. The switchover should be done region by region. Before then, a test

transmission should be done to ascertain the level of readiness of the

country for digitization.

3. The policy of operating analogue and digital transmissions side by

side should be adopted for a period of time until the country is sure it

can do away with analogue broadcasting.

4. Government should partner with stakeholders to form a workable

road map.

5. There is an urgent need for massive campaign by government and

broadcast organisations on digitization and its implications.

6. Broadcast organizations especially the privately owned ones should

make it a policy to give their technical staff up to date professional

training to ensure efficiency.

7. Government should encourage the local manufacture of the

hardware for digitization. This will subsidize the cost of the equipment.

REFERENCES

Onwubuariri, P (2008) Television Digitization: What Impact on

Nigerians? : http//www.triumphnews.com/tel2372008.

Starks, M (2004) Digital TV Project. London:

www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Anaeto,S. G et al (2008) Models of Theories of Communication.

Maryland: Concept Publications.(pp190-196)

Abbas, J. (2009) Nigeria: Transiting from Analogue Pains to Digital

Gains: http//www.allafrica.com.

Baran,S.J(2002) Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy

and Culture. Newyork: McGraw Hill (pp83-88)

Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2006) The Media Students’ Book.

London: Routledge. (pp 5-500)

Ching, A (2006) Communication Theories: Technological determinism:

www.wongkeenhing.com.

(pp 1-2)

Craft, J.E et al (2001) Electronic Media. California: Wardsworth.(p 284)

Dare, O and Uyo, A (eds) (1996) Journalism in Nigeria: Issues and

Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo Compass.

Dominick, J.R and Wimmer, R.D (1987) Mass Media Research: An

Introduction. California: Wardsworth(p155)

Dzonga dzonga (2009, 10 7). Retrieved 10 18, 2009, from digital

dzonga: http://www.digitaldzonga.co.za

Grint, K (1991) The Sociology of Work: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Polity Press (p 60)

Eastman, S.T and Ferguson, D. A (2002) Broadcast/Cable/Web

Programming Strategies and Practices. Belmont:Wardsworth.(220-252)

fcc (2009, 7 21). dtv is coming. Retrieved 10 18, 2009, from federal

communication commission: http://www.dtv.gov

Fidler, R(1997) Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media. California:

Pire Forge Press.(p 89)

Haralambos, M et al (2004) Sociology, Themes and Perspectives.

London: Collins.(pp 624-899)

McLuhan,M and Fiore,Q(1967)The Medium is the Message: An

Inventory of Effects.Newyork: Random House (pp 279-280)

Mcquail, D (2000) Mcquail’s Theory of Mass Communication. London:

Sage. (pp 16-34)

Mcquail, D (2005) Mcquail’s Theory of Mass Communication. London:

Sage. (p 234)

Martini, D. (2001) Preparing for Digital Broadcasting:

http//www.itu.int/digitization conference in Kenya

Ogah, I. A (2007) Re-appraisal of The Development Media Theory and

Its Implications to the Nigerian Broadcast Technology in Globalizating

World in Nwosu, I. E and Soola, D.E. Communication in Global ICT and

Ecosystem Perspectives-Insight from Nigeria . Enugu: Precision. p(153)

Nwosu, I.E. and Soola, O.E (eds) (2007) Communication in Global ICTs

and Ecosystem Perspectives-Insight From Nigeria. Enugu: Precision.

Obazele, P(1996) Challenges of Radio Journalism and Management of

Broadcasting in Nigeria in Dare, O and Uyo, A Journalism in Nigeria:

issues and Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo Compass.(pp 142-144)

Onwubuariri, P (2008) Television Digitization: What Impact on

Nigerians? : http//www.triumphnews.com/tel2372008.

Potter, J.W (2005) Media Literacy. Thousand Oaks: Sage.(p 185)

Rudestam,K.E and Newton,R.R (2001) Surveying Your Dissertation:A

Contemporary Guide to Content and Press.Thousand Oaks: Sage

(pp75-90)

SADIBA Report (2002) Analogue to Digital Migration Strategy for South

Africa : http//www.sadiba.co.za

SADIBA Report (2009) Analogue to Digital Migration Strategy for South

Africa: http//www.sadiba.co.za

Spears, W (2009) Digitization of Broadcasting: http//ellies.com (p40)

Smuts, K (2001) Digital Broadcasting Advisory Board in South Africa in

Rapporteurs’ Report(2001):http//www.itu.int.(p36)

Sotunmbi, B (1996) The Challenges of Television Journalism in Dare, O

and Uyo, A. Journalism in Nigeria: issues and Perspectives. Ikeja: Cargo

Compass.(172-176)

Starks, M (2004) The Digital Television Project:

http//www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk.(pp12-43)

The OFCOM’S Report (2004):http//www.ofcom.com/digital broadcasting

in Africa

The SCITECH Report (2008)Digitalization of Broadcasting in Nigeria:

http//www.scitech.com/digital terrestrial broadcasting.

The Rapporteurs’ Report (2001):http//www.itu.int

The ITU Report (2006):http//www.itu.int/digital terrestrial broadcasting

The ITU Report (2009):http//www.itu.int/ict/regulation toolkits

The Kenya Report (2008) Report of the Task Force on Migration of

Terrestrial Television from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting in Kenya:

http//www.cck.go.ke/migration_digital tv

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in Tanzania: http//www.tcra.go.tz/digital broadcasting.

http//www.hindawi.com/journals/ijdmb

http//ministryofpower.gov.ng/phcn.

http//ministryofinformaion.gov.ng/standards/digitalization

http//www.nbc.gov/road to digitization

http//en.wikipedia.org/digitization

http//en.wikipedia.org/digital terrestrial broadcasting

http//www.allafrica.com/stakeholders’ communiqué on digitization of

broadcasting in Nigeria http//www.ngrguardiannews.com/implications

of digitization in Nigeria

APPENDIX II

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR MANAGEMENT STAFF.

Dear Sir,

My name is Ibbi, Andrew Ali. I am an M.SC fulltime student of the

Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos. I am

Carrying out a research on the level of preparedness of broadcast

stations in Lagos state to the 2012 deadline for the transition from

analogue to digital broadcasting. Your assistance is needed to respond

to the questions below concerning your station’s state of readiness for

digitization.

I assure you that the information given will only be used for

academic research and nothing else.

Thank you for your cooperation.

QUESTIONS

1. What are the requirements for digitization according to the National

broadcasting Commission?

2. Considering the fact that the staffs in most broadcast stations in

Nigeria are more skillful in handling analogue equipment, how has your

station been able to prepare its staff to cope with the challenges of the

new digital equipment?

3. Tick appropriately the level of skillfulness of your staff in coping with

digital technology

Very skillful ( ) Skillful ( ) can’t assess ( ) fairly skillful ( )

Not skillful ( )

4. Based on what you have on ground now, tick the appropriate level of

preparedness of your station for digitization.

Totally ready ( ) Ready ( ) can’t say ( ) fairly ready ( ) Not

ready ( )

5. What are the challenges that your station is facing concerning the

switchover process?

6. What are the ways that your station is using to educate the public

on digitization and its implications?

7. In your opinion, is the 2012 deadline okay for Nigerian broadcast

stations?

8. In what ways would you want the government to support your

station to enable it attain full digitization by 2012?

9. What is your station doing in terms of the purchase of the standard

equipment?

10. Would you prefer the government to set up a body to monitor the

importation of digital equipment or should every station be allowed to

import what it wants for its station?

11. How much do you think it will cost your station to fully go digital?

12. How are you raising the funds?

13. Do you have a training programme for your staff on how to handle

digital equipment?

APPENDIX III

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR TECHNICAL STAFF

Dear Sir,

My name is Ibbi, Andrew Ali. I am an M.SC fulltime student of the

Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos. I am

Carrying out a research on the level of preparedness of broadcast

stations in Lagos state to the 2012 deadline for the transition from

analogue to digital broadcasting. Your assistance is needed to respond

to the questions below concerning your station’s state of readiness for

digitization.

I assure you that the information given will only be used for

academic research and nothing else.

Thank you for your cooperation.

QUESTIONS

1. Technically speaking, what are the things that a station must have

before it can be called a fully digitized station?

2. How skillful are you technical staff in handling digital equipment?

3. Based on the equipment you have on ground, tick the appropriate

state of readiness of your station for digitization

Very ready ( ) Ready ( ) cant assess ( ) Fairly ready ( ) Not

ready ( )

4. What is a set top box?

5. Must every digital television set have a set top box before it

function?

6. Explain the difference between High Definition Television (HDTV)

and Digital Video Broadcasting Technology (DVB-T)

7. The ITU recommended the DVB-T for African countries but the

Federal Government spent millions of naira to purchase HDTV

equipment for the FIFA U-17 world cup. Is it possible for a country to

use equipment that are not specified by the ITU?

8. Does digitization mean your station will have to overhaul all its

existing equipment?

9. Do we have the technology to manufacture digital equipment in

Nigeria?

10. For those that were unable to purchase the digital television or the

set top boxes, is it possible for them to watch their old television sets

after the deadline?

APPENDIX I

QUESTIONNAIRE.

Dear Respondent,

My name is Ibbi, Andrew Ali. I am an M.SC fulltime student of the

Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos. I am

Carrying out a research on the level of preparedness of broadcast

stations in Lagos state to the 2012 deadline for the transition from

analogue to digital broadcasting. Your assistance is needed to respond

to the questions below concerning your station’s state of readiness for

digitization.

I assure you that the information given will only be used for

academic research and nothing else.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SECTION A

1.Do you have access to any electronic medium?

.Yes( ) No( )

2.If your answer to question one is yes,which of the electronic media

do you have access to?

Radio ( ) Television Both( ) others ( )

3.Do you know anything about the digitization of broadcasting?

Yes( ) No( )

4.If your answer to question 3 is yes, do you agree that Nigeria will

switchover completely from analogue to digital broadcasting by 2012?

Srongly agree( ) Agree( ) Indifferent( ) Disagree( ) Strongly

disagree( )

5..How would you rate the performance of broadcast stations in

creating awareness to the public on the digitization of broadcasting?

Highly effective ( ) Effective ( ) Moderately effective( ) Not

effective( ) Highly not effective( )

6. How would you rate the performance of government in creating

awareness to the public on the digitization of broadcasting?

Highly effective ( ) Effective ( ) Moderately effective( ) Not

effective( ) Highly not effective( )

7. Tick one item that you think will hinder the success of the

digitization project.

Poverty( ) Poor consumer education ( ) Poor electricity supply( )

Untrained broadcast personnel( ) Others( )

8. Which of these media do you listen to/ watch the most ?

Radio( ) Television( ) Both( ) None( )

9. Through which of these media did you know about the digitization of

broadcasting?

Radio( ) Television( ) Both( ) None( )

10.The least amunt for buying a set top box(a decoder for digital

television) is ten thousand naira.How affordable do you think this is to

Nigerians?

Highly affordable( ) Affordable( ) Indifferent( ) Not

affordable( ) Highly not affordable( )

11.Tick one thing that you believe the government should do to make

digitization of broadcasting people friendly.

Buy set top boxes for everybody( ) subsidize the cost of the set top

boxes( ) Improve electricity supply( ) Educate the people on

digitization( ) Others

12. Do you agree that the digitization of broadcasting is of great

benefit to the society?

1.Strongly agree( ) 2.Agree( ) 3.Indifferent( ) 4.Disagree( )

5.Strongly disagree( )

13.How satisfied are you with the way the country is going about the

process of switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting?

Highly satisfied( ) Satisfied( ) Indifferent( ) Dissatisfied( )

Highly dissatisfied( )

14. What do you think will become of your old television set after the

switchover deadline?

It will stop to function( ) It will still be useful( ) I don’t know( )

Others( )

15.Do you agree that digitization should be a priority of government in

this period of global economic crisis?

Strongly agree( ) Agree( ) Indifferent( ) Disagree( )

Strongly disagree( )

16.Is the 2012 deadline for switchover to digital broadcasting

convenient for Nigeria?

Yes( ) No( )

17.If your answer to question 16 is NO,what date would you suggest

for Nigeria?

2013( ) 2014( ) 2015( ) Beyond 2015( )

18.How would you want the switchover to be done in the country?

State by State( ) Simultenously( ) Lagos state first before other

states( ) Each station should be allowed to switchover when it

wants( ) others

19.Would you support that government should allow for the local

manufacture of digital equipment?

Strongly support( ) Agree( ) Neutral( ) Don’t support( )

Strongly don’t support( )

SECTION B (BIO DATA)

1.Age

18-21( )

22-27( )

28-33( )

34-39( )

40-45( )

46-50( )

Others( )

2.Sex

Male( ) Female( )

3.Marital status

Single( )

Married( )

Divorced( )

Widowed( )

Others

4.Educational Qualification

First school leaving certificate( )

WASC/WAEC/NECO( )

HND/B.SC( )

ND/NCE( )

Others( )

5.Occupation

Student( )

Applicant( )

Unemployed( )

Civil Servant( )

Trader( )

Housewife( )

Others( )

APPENDIX IV

NAMES OF STREETS IN AKOKA.

Oridami street

Oyenuga Street

Aiyetoro Street

Tijani Ashogbon Street

Teslim Nasiru Street

Olanrewaju Street

Moronfolu Street

Community Road

Obeyan Street

Afolabi Brown Street

Osifolarin Street

Adeboye Street

Ogungbamila Street

Ogunleye street

Funmilayo Onaronke street

Awofala Street

Anuolowapo Street

Odukoya Street

Adeyinka Street

Emily Akinola street

Oshinjo Street

Folorunsho Johnson Street

Odunsanya Street

Abeokuta street

Sanyaolu street

Ayoola street

Adun street

Ilaje street

Kukoyi street

Idowu street

A.Lawal street

James Eze street

Alhaji Alimi street

Ayoola street

Lawal street

Unity Street

Odelana street

Adedoyin street

Den Martins street

Olatunji Rufai street

Ajoleye A.Sule street

Oremeji street

Igbaja street

Bello street

Obadia street

Ajayi Olaiya street

Yinusa street

Alake street

Ogbere street

Adenuga Kajero street

Shobande street

University of Lagos

SOURCE: www.lagosian.gov.ng

APPENDIX V

SAMPLED STREETS USED IN THE RESEARCH

1.Oyenuga Street

2.Aiyetoro Street

3.Olanrewaju Street

4.Community Road

5.Afolabi Brown Street

6.Adeboye Street

7.Ogungbamila Street

8.Funmilayo Onaronke street

9.Anuolowapo Street

10.Adeyinka Street

11.Emily Akinola street

12.Folorunsho Johnson Street

13.Odunsanya Street

14.Sanyaolu street

15.Adun street

16.Kukoyi street

17.A.Lawal street

18.Alhaji Alimi street

19.Ayoola street

20.Unity Street

21.Adedoyin street

22.Den Martins street

23.Olatunji Rufai street

24.Ajoleye A.Sule street

25.Oremeji street

26.Obadia street

27.Yinusa street

28.Alake street

29.Adenuga Kajero street

30.Shobande street

APPENDIX VI

RADIO STATIONS IN LAGOS STATE.

1.Brila FM 88.9

2.Eko FM 89.75

3.Top Radio 90.9

4.Inspiration FM 92.3

5.Rhythm FM 93.7

6.Altitude FM 94.8

7.Cool FM 96.9

8.Metro FM 97.6

9.Raypower 100.5

10.Radio Continental 103

11.Star FM 101.5

12.Unilag FM 103.1

13.FRCN Radio FM 103.5

14.NOUN FM 105.9

15.Radio Lagos 107.5

16.Beat FM 99.9

17.Classic FM 97.3

18.WAZOBIA FM 95.1

19.VON Radio

SOURCE:www.nbc.gov.ng

APPENDIX VII

LIST OF TELEVISION STATIONS IN LAGOS STATE.

1. NTA2 Channel 5

2. NTA Channel 10

3. Lagos Television(LTV)

4. Television Continental(TVC)

5. Murhi Internatiol Television(MITV)

6. Channels Television

7. Degue Broadcasting Network(DBN)

8. Universal Broadcasting Service ltd(Superscreen)

9. Galaxy Television

10. Minaj

11. Silverbird Television(STV)

12. African Independent Television(AIT)

SOURCE: www.nbc.gov.ng

DEDICATION

This research work is dedicated to my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ for

his guidance and protection throughout my postgraduate programme.

It is also dedicated to the living memory of my late parents, Bro.

Emmanuel Hillary Ali Ibbi (OSA) and Mrs. Jacinta Emmanuel.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

I wish to express my gratitude to God Almighty for seeing me through

the programme. Lord, I cannot quantify the favours that you have been

doing to me. All I will say is thank you.

I wish to say a big thank you to Dorcas Dauda for your support

throughout my programme in the University of Lagos. I also wish to

appreciate the support of my siblings both in cash and in kind: Helter,

Fidelis, Ishaku, Nassi and Pasom. You guys are just too much, you

made it so easy for me as if the oldman and the old woman are with

us. Only the good lord will reward you. To my nieces and nephews

(Sherrif, Queen, Sonyina, Suzie, Juliet, Pauline, Mr Cheng, The Duke,

Franca, Justice, Jacinta and Imani), thank you for your messages while I

was away.

I also wish to acknowledge my friend and brother,Eugene Enehe for his

total support both financially and morally throughout my stay in lagos.

I will not forget Mummy, BB and Amina all in Kaduna, I love you all.

I also wish to appreciate my in laws( Bitrus Haruna, Paul Ayuba and

Ruth Ibbi) for their prayers and support. I will not forget my uncle,

Chief John Manasseh(MON) for his advice that I should go for my

masters.i also wish to acknowledge uncle Sadak for his support.

I will not forget my friend and twin brother on campus,Adebunmi

Adeshokan(Boomer) you are the man. Thanx for the laptop and

everything.I will always remember Petra Arokoyo and Dare Ariyo

Raphael. We have come a long way from Zaria to Lagos, lets do it

again.

I also wish to appreciate my special friend, Ogechi Michael, you are

always there when I need you. I will not forget mummy, thank you so

much.

My gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr. Innocent Okoye. Sir, thank you

for your guidance and patience in going through my work. God bless

you. I wish to appreciate all my postgraduate lecturers in the

University of Lagos.

I will not forget my guardian Mr.Lawal Yusuf and his family for the love

and care they gave me.

I will not forget my roommate Deji, my friend Tunde aka Labota and

my classmates like Apetuje,Aderibigbe, Kenny, Precious, Grace and

several others. It was nice knowing you guys.

Finally,I will not forget to acknowledge my friends Engr. Timothy

Gambo and DSP Boniface Miyakilo. You guys have been very caring.

Thank you and God bless you.

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this research project is original, and is my

personal effort and that it had not been previously presented for award

of any kind. All materials used that had been published were duly

acknowledged.

__________________________ _____________________

IBBI Andrew Ali(089083026) Date

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page

Declaration

Certification

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Abstract

Chapter one

1.0 Background of the study

1.1 Statement of the Problem

1.2 Research Questions

1.3 Reseach objectives

1.4 Justification of study

1.5 Scope of study

1.6 Definition of terms

Chapter Two

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Digitization of broadcasting,global perspective

2.2 Digitization of broadcasting in Africa

2.3 Nigeria and the digitization of broadcasting

2.3.1 History of broadcasting in Nigeria

2.3.2 Challenges of digitization

2.3.3 Digitization standards

2.3.4 Implications of digitization

2.3.5 Advantages of digitization

2.3.6 Disadvantages of digitization

2.3.7 Empirical studies on digitization

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Chapter Three

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Methodology

3.2 Instrument design

3.3 Sampling method

3.4 Population of the study

3.5 Sample size

3.6 Method of distribution of questionnaire

Chapter Four

4.0 Introduction

4.1 Preliminary Analysis

4.2 Discussion of findings

Chapter Five

5.1 Summary

5.2 Constraints

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recomendations

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX