He gave the hint in Abuja, yesterday, at an interactive session with Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation and the 13-member Ministerial Task Force on DSO Project.
“We are kick-starting the new roll-out in Lagos State on April 29, while Kano will be on June 3, and Rivers on July 8.
“We will then follow up with Yobe on July 15 and Gombe on August 12. To date, we have rolled out the DSO in five states and Abuja,” the minister said.
Mohammed, who said the DSO had gone live in Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, and Osun states, added that the ministry considered the DSO as one of its priority projects, given its potential to create jobs, bring governance closer to the people through better access to information and provide quality programming to Nigeria’s estimated 24 million television households, with high fidelity pictures and sound.
“Let me say straight away that for us, the DSO is about stimulating local content and empowering platform owners. Manufacturing of Set-Top Boxes or decoders alone is capable of creating 50,000 jobs, while television production could create 200,000 jobs.
“Film production can generate 350 to 400,000 jobs, distribution, which entails supplying the market with Set-Top Boxes, TVs and Dongles for the Internet, will require at least 100,000 wholesalers. Advertising can create a further 50,000 jobs,” the minister explained.
He said the ministry had taken some steps to create the enabling environment for the DSO to succeed, for local content to thrive, for indigenous producers to be more engaged and for the local advertising market to grow.
Mohammed revealed that the Federal Government had carried out an unprecedented reform of the broadcasting industry, given the nexus between the reforms and the success of the DSO.
“The amendments were necessitated by the need to boost the local content in Nigeria, curb anti-competitive and monopolistic tendencies and boost advertising revenues.”
According to Mohammed, the code was amended to curb monopoly and exclusivity of programme content to create room for the local industry to grow.
“For example, the pay TV sector of the broadcast industry has been controlled by foreign interests, while indigenous efforts to compete have been frustrated or weakened by the established control of the big monopolies.
“It will interest you to know that to date, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has licensed over 30 Nigerian pay TV companies, but only one is currently struggling to breakthrough. This is not acceptable.”
“The monopolies exclude many Nigerians from enjoying or having access to premium content, especially in the area of sports and movies.
“With the amendment to the code, anyone owning any sports rights must make such available to other parties in Nigeria, who may be interested in acquiring these rights,” the minister said.
