Broadcasting
28.1% Growth Rate, S-VOD Marketing Growing After Pay TV-Gartner
While pay TV is the biggest segment of the overall consumer video services market, accounting for 96.3 percent of total spending in 2014 and 94.2 percent by 2018, Gartner said that subscription video on demand (S-VOD) is a growing market.
Speaking on the trend the current and future state of the S-VOD market and how consumers’ behaviors may impact this type of service, Fernando Elizalde, principal research analyst at Gartner, said that of all the video media services that consumers pay directly to the service provider, the over-the-top S-VOD services have the strongest growth potential.
Gartner expects consumer spending on S-VOD services to grow 28.1 percent in 2014 and 18.2 percent in 2015.
He said that there are regional differences driven by the maturity of the S-VOD market itself, including availability of providers and content, the readiness of the broadband infrastructure and the consumer’s ability and willingness to pay.
While North America and Western Europe will drive overall spending on S-VOD services, they are the slowest growing markets globally – spending on S-VOD services in North America is on pace to grow 28.5 percent in 2014 and in Western Europe spending is expected to increase 18.6 percent.
In the emerging regions, where this type of services is more novel, we estimate S-VOD spending will grow 53 percent in 2014.
In Africa, particularly Nigeria, broadband availability and affordability are part of issues seeking solutions.
On the impact on pay-TV services, Elizalde, said that, S-VOD will not displace pay-TV services as a whole.
“It is, and will be, complementary to traditional pay-TV services such as cable TV, satellite TV or IPTV. Yet, consumers will increasingly spend less in additional premium services from the pay-TV provider and divert the spending to S-VOD.
“However, there will be a small segment of the population, particularly those who are starting a new household and haven’t yet subscribed to pay-TV services, which will only rely on online access to video and TV content.
Speaking on how much consumers spend on average on S-VOD and how often do they buy S-VOD, he said, Gartner estimates that households spend anywhere between $6 and almost $10 on average per subscription worldwide.
“The spending varies somewhat regionally with emerging Greater China, Sub-Saharan and Asia Pacific countries paying the least per subscription. Gartner estimates that “technology enthusiast” households, in other words, early adopters, are already subscribing to multiple S-VOD services in mature markets. In fact, technology enthusiasts in the US spend on average $15 a month on S-VOD services, while the same group in Germany spends $17.
On content provisioning, he said, “iTunes, Amazon and Netflix are doing well as their services become available in European countries. Before Netflix’s latest expansion into Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the company already amassed a subscription based of nearly 5 million customers in Western Europe.
“We also saw that within two weeks of service, Netflix allured around 100 thousand subscribers in France, with the first month being free. In addition, the entrance of international service providers fosters service awareness, competition and better services for the consumers”.
In Nigeria, music and Nollywood contents are trending among the youths too.
“From a content point of view, some of the content from international S-VOD service providers needs to be in local language to appeal to a broader audience, but it is not a necessity. In addition, the availability of European content is enforced by the European Audio Visual Media Service Directive.
“The directive requires the service providers to promote the production of European content and its access, by contributing financially to the production of European content, or by reserving a share and/or prominence for European content in their catalogue. Yet, not all countries have enforced this directive,” he said.
Mrs. Clementine Wamba, head, Digital Switch Over (DSO) at the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has stressed the need for broadcasting stations and practitioners nationwide to work towards meeting the 2028 global deadline for the switch over.
She made the call in her presentation titled, “DSO Big Picture: Free TV Audience Measurement and the Evolving Media Landscape”, at the 2026 NBC South West Summit held in Ibadan.
Wamba harped on the need for practitioners to adopt DSO in the transmission of news and other programmes in order to meet future challenges, stating that any country that fail to align with the DSO by 2028 will be shut out of practice.
This development, according to her, may result in job losses and other consequences that could hinder the growth of the industry in Nigeria, noting that Free TV is tailored towards the DSO, with provision for many channels in contrast to the age-long analogue system.
According to her, “The Digital Switch Over is a technological improvement on the age-long analogue style of broadcasting in the country. With the adoption of the DSO, practitioners will be in tune with global practice of broadcast journalism.
“Also, its benefits include efficient use of spectrum, changing of industry landscape, more access to national development programmes and better viewing experience.”
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that Nigerians will no longer pay annual Digital Access Fees under the renewed Digital Switch Over (DSO) project.
Charles Ebuebu, director-general, NBC, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja,
Ebuebu said viewers only need to purchase an approved decoder and satellite dish which cost below N20,000 to enjoy free television permanently.
“Previously, users paid an annual digital access fee of about N1,500, described as an administrative charge.
“The new system removes that annual fee. It provides free access to free-to-air television channels without any payment.
“Premium channels will be introduced later. Viewers who want those additional channels will be able to access them through paid services.
“Nigerian content on free-to-air channels remains free to watch. Unlike Pay TV, this platform does not require monthly subscriptions for its basic service,” he said
Ebuebu said approved decoders for the FreeTV will cost less than N20,000 and authorised sales outlets will soon be announced.
He urged Nigerians to wait for official information on approved dealers for the DSO decoders, warning that unauthorised sellers are exploiting growing public demand.
He reiterated that people only need a free-to-air decoder, along with a satellite dish instead of the old antenna system to receive the DSO signal.
“Once the equipment is installed, viewers can access all available channels across the country without paying any subscription fees,” he stressed
The DG dismissed claims by some retailers that there are different categories of decoders sold at varying prices, stressing that such sellers are not authorised by the commission.
According to him, the NBC will soon publish the list of approved dealers, official prices, and locations where genuine decoder boxes and accessories can be purchased.
The NBC boss said the DSO project is designed not only to improve television broadcasting but also to stimulate economic growth by creating jobs, attracting investment, and opening up opportunities for businesses that support the broadcasting industry.
Ebuebu noted that content producers and broadcasters stand to benefit significantly from the nationwide reach of the DSO platform.
Unlike the previous system, where many stations had limited regional audiences, he said the new platform will make their channels available to viewers across Nigeria.
He added that the introduction of audience measurement technology will provide scientific and reliable data on television viewership.
Ebuebu added that audience measurement technology will give advertisers greater confidence in placing adverts and enable broadcasters to demonstrate the true size and reach of their audiences nationwide.
Uchenna Mbunabo, Nigerian filmmaker, has raised concerns over the alleged unauthorised broadcast of Nollywood films by some Ghanaian television stations, calling on Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA) to strengthen the enforcement of copyright laws.
Uchenna Mbunabo, Nigerian filmmaker
Mbunabo made the remarks during a conversation with James Gardiner, deputy CEO of the National Film Authority (NFA) of Ghana.
He questioned whether it was permissible for television stations in Ghana to download Nigerian movies from YouTube and air them without obtaining permission from the producers.
“I noticed that Ghanaian TV stations, the way they are stealing our films and showing them for free with impunity. Is it legalised in your country for TV stations to go on YouTube, download people’s sweat and show it for free?”
According to Mbunabo, some Ghanaian television stations have been downloading newly released Nollywood films from YouTube and broadcasting them without authorisation, depriving producers of revenue generated through the platform.
He also stated that he had not witnessed Nigerian television stations engaging in similar practices and questioned what measures Ghana was taking to protect filmmakers’ intellectual property.
Responding to the concerns, Gardiner acknowledged that the issue exists and said the National Film Authority had begun engaging relevant stakeholders to address it.
He disclosed that the NFA has held discussions with the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the National Media Commission (NMC) on improving copyright enforcement.
Gardiner explained that while Ghana has copyright laws, enforcement remains challenging because many television stations now operate digitally and may not have physical offices within the country.
“There are copyright laws, but they are not effective because a lot of the TV stations don’t have offices. Most of them are now digital, so they operate from anywhere. They can even have a Ghanaian TV station but be operating from Austria simply because it is digital.”
He added that authorities are considering a new licensing framework that would require broadcasters to undergo a fresh licensing process to improve monitoring and enforcement.
According to Gardiner, television stations found guilty of illegally broadcasting copyrighted content would be required to compensate affected producers through fines.
He added that repeat offenders could face suspension of their broadcasting licences, while a third violation could result in the revocation of their licences.
Although he did not provide a specific timeline, Gardiner said the reforms were already underway and expressed hope that significant progress would be seen next year.
Mbunabo welcomed the proposed measures but urged the National Film Authority to expedite the process, stating that unauthorised broadcasts continue to affect filmmakers’ ability to recover production costs through legitimate distribution channels such as YouTube.
He also stressed that his comments were not directed at Ghana’s film industry, noting that he has worked with several Ghanaian actors over the years and supports collaborations between Nollywood and Ghallywood.
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