10m Nigerian homes run on analogue television

• SES increases reach in the country

About 10 million Nigerian homes currently run transmission on analogue television sets.Though, the figure has reduced in the last few years owing to increase in digital television, which accounts for 15 million (60 per cent) of the terrestrial television homes in the country.

According to SES, leading satellite operator, in its Satellite Monitor, a market study commissioned by it to provide insights on the broadcasting industry and on SES’s reach in the country. It disclosed that the Satellite operator now serves close to 10 million Nigerian TV homes.

In the report, which was unveiled to select media houses, including The Guardian, at the weekend, SES revealed that Terrestrial TV digital switch-over lagging in the country with 10 million homes still run on analogue transmission.

SES said it has significantly increased its technical reach in Nigeria to over 11 million TV homes in 2017, up from three million in 2015, according to Satellite Monitor, a market study commissioned by SES that provides insights on the broadcasting industry and on SES’s reach in the country. The firm said out of the 11 million homes, 3.5 million are directly served by its satellite fleet – a twofold increase compared to 2015. This means SES now directly serves 37 per cent of satellite TV homes in Nigeria. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) homes fed indirectly by SES also contributed to the increased reach.

SES explained that the prime orbital position at 28.2 degrees East was a key driver for the growth of it’s direct reach, with three million TV homes directly served via this orbital slot, up from 1.3 million in 2015. This video position hosts SES’s premium free-to-air TV platform for Nigeria, giving broadcasters access to the highest technical reach in West Africa. The growth of SES’s reach was also driven by direct satellite broadcasting and feeding DTT head-ends via five degrees East.

There are a total of 35 million TV homes in Nigeria, of which close to 10 million are served by satellite, and the rest are served by terrestrial networks. The penetration of digital TV has expanded to 25 million homes receiving digital TV signals, which represents 35 per cenr growth compared to 2015.

Vice President, Sales & Market Development for Africa, SES Video, Clint Brown, said: “SES has been committed to driving the growth of digital TV in Nigeria for many years, and local partners in the country appreciate the Satellite Monitor study as a token of our commitment.

“We are particularly excited by our growing technical reach at 28.2 degrees East, which broadcasters and content programmers will be able to leverage to increase their audience via our Nigerian TV platform. In addition, the results show that the hybrid DTH/DTT approach is the winning strategy to deliver TV entertainment to the highest number of TV homes.”

SES has also expanded its reach to 30 million TV homes across Africa. In addition to the growth of homes reached in Nigeria, the study also shows that there was an increase from two million to four million homes reached in Ghana. Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania – which are being included in the Satellite Monitor for the first year – account for an additional seven million homes reached by SES.