Nigeria to be Africa’s Biggest Digital TV Market, Says Osinbajo

Demola Ojo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said efforts by the federal government regarding broadcasting will soon make Nigeria the leader in the African digital TV market.

“The digital switchover ensured by the National Broadcasting Commission and other stakeholders will make Nigeria the biggest digital TV market in Africa,” he revealed at the launch of Hi-Impact TV in Lagos recently.

Represented at the launch by Director General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Folorunsho Coker, Osinbajo lauded the epoch-making event and described the station as revolutionary within the Nigerian broadcast, entertainment and media industry. It will encourage government’s resolve to carry out reforms in the sector and grow the economy by leveraging on the potentials of the creative sector to showcase Nigeria’s rich culture, he remarked.

Expectations are high as Solution Media & Infotech Ltd – owners of the Hi-Impact brand – launch Hi Impact TV. Touted as Nigeria’s first High Definition free-to-air TV station, Hi-Impact TV started broadcasting Friday, June 1, coming on board a few days after a launch ceremony on Democracy Day.

Osinbajo continued that the launch of Hi-Impact TV is a revolution “since it promises to be the very first TV channel in Nigeria to transmit all its programmes completely in full High Definition.”

The landmark achievement by Hi-Impact supports government’s resolve to carry out reforms in the sector and grow the economy by leveraging on the potential of the creative sector and providing sustainable platforms to ensure real growth, the Vice-President continued.

“This will contribute to increasing the Nigerian GDP. Actors, producers, directors, cameramen will all be gainfully employed directly or indirectly,” Osinbajo said at a well-attended event held at Hi-Impact Planet, an amusement park at Ibafo, Ogun State (on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway), where Hi-Impact TV broadcasts from.
The Alake of Egbaland and paramount ruler of Egba kingdom, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III, was among many dignitaries at the occasion.

Osinbajo further said HI-impact TV would provide the country another opportunity to showcase its rich culture and engage the creative talents to provide content for production and increase the number of channels available to viewers nationwide. He also expressed hope that the station would benefit the host community.
Welcoming guests to the launch, Chairman Solution Media, Prince Adeyanju Lipede, said the TV station will be ‘edutainment-based’, focusing mainly on education, entertainment and family.

He stressed that the station will assist children excel in examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO as well as the Joint Matriculations Exams (JAMB), with its educative programmes.

The company’s Managing Director, Prince Adeleye Lipede, added: “We have engaged professional teachers to take subjects offered by secondary school students and JAMB to complement what they (students) are taught in school.”
Marketing Executive Victoria Odimba explained that the culture at Solution Media is to solve problems encountered in the course of work. “We found out that we needed to drop the quality of our adverts to air on many TV stations,” she explained. “Dropping quality from High Definition to Standard definition was frustrating after putting so much work in. It was the genesis of the idea to set up their own station”, she added.