The Federal Government has announced that Nigeria’s long-delayed Digital Switch Over project will finally be rolled out nationwide on June 17, 2026, describing the development as a major breakthrough for the country’s broadcasting industry.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Wednesday after a facility tour of the headquarters of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited in Abuja.
According to the minister, the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting would transform television broadcasting, advertising, audience measurement and content distribution across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
“The promise that President Bola Tinubu made that he is going to reform all sectors. We are seeing this reform in action in the broadcast industry,” Idris said.
He noted that Nigerians had waited for years for the implementation of the Digital Switch Over project, stressing that the process was now complete and ready for commissioning.
“You recall that for many years, Nigerians have been grappling with this idea of the DSO, the digital switchover.
In other words, removing our transmissions from analogue to digital. Now this has happened, and it is ready to be commissioned by the 17th of June this year,” he stated.
The minister explained that the new digital platform would provide broadcasters and advertisers with accurate audience measurement tools capable of tracking viewership patterns and helping advertisers make informed decisions.
“Now science is at play. If you are now viewing any particular station, you know who is viewing what, and how many people are viewing,” Idris said.
According to him, the platform would also improve competition among broadcasters and boost content production nationwide.
“Competition is going to set in. Everybody is going to compete. Content is going to grow. Viewership, hopefully, will also grow,” he added.
Idris further disclosed that the country would transition fully to high-definition television broadcasting after the launch.
“The most important thing is that we are now moving to HD. After the launch, we will be fully in HD,” he said.
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Addressing concerns over previous failed DSO efforts, the minister explained that the earlier set-top boxes introduced under the project were encrypted and expensive for consumers.
“In the past, the set-top boxes provided under earlier Digital Switch Over efforts were encrypted, meaning you had limited flexibility in choosing or switching services. As a result, the cost also became higher. Now, this service is free, and the government has already absorbed some of these costs,” he explained.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, Jane Egerton-Idehen, said the organisation was focused on ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and continuous technological advancement.
She also revealed that plans were underway to launch two additional satellites to strengthen coverage nationwide.
“The president has given us the ability to even launch two more satellites. So the work has only just started,” she said.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Charles Ebuebu, disclosed that the platform would launch with about 100 television channels.
“Now we are updating the list of channels. We are going to have 100 channels by the day of launch,” Ebuebu said.
He added that the commission had established six regional studios nationwide to support local content creators and reduce dependence on major cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Kano.
The NBC boss also disclosed plans for a multilingual national call centre and a nationwide network of certified installers to support users after the rollout.
Nigeria first launched the Digital Switch Over initiative in 2016, but implementation stalled repeatedly over funding, infrastructure and technical challenges.
In 2024, the National Broadcasting Commission announced that it secured a N10bn grant approved by President Bola Tinubu to accelerate nationwide digital television coverage expansion.