Broadcasting
Nigeria Commits to Domestication of Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual
Nigeria, in the ongoing reform of its copyright system, is taking steps towards the domestication of the provisions of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, which came into force on 28th April 2020.
Mr. John O. Asein, Director-General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), disclosed this in his opening remarks at a Webinar with the theme: Strengthening Nigeria’s Creative Sector through Improved Rights for Artists and Performers, to mark the coming into force of the treaty.
Expressing concern over the loss of revenue in the audiovisual industry, he assured that the Commission would work with the guilds, associations and collective management organisation in the industry to develop appropriate mechanisms to ensure greater return on creative investment.
He noted that such interventions would necessitate looking into various aspects of the industry, including engagement contracts, distribution bottlenecks, online abuses and rights management issues.
The Director-General reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to improving the protection available to audiovisual performers, especially “in today’s digital environment where copyright works are easily retransmitted on various online platforms often without recourse to the right owners or the performers.”
Noting that Nigeria’s film industry ranked among the top three in the world, he expressed worry that the ranking has not translated to real economic benefit and enhanced status for the performers “who stand before the lights and cameras transforming scripts to action”.
Mr. Asein expressed sadness that in recent times, well-known film and television actors faced with health challenges have had to appeal to the public for assistance which often came in trickles or a little too late.
“The current global pandemic has further amplified the vulnerability of creators – authors, musicians, actors and other performers – and it underscores the need to have a fallback system to sustain them beyond their active years and especially in time of economic downturn. These are people who generate or bring life to the copyright works that we enjoy but in most cases they do not have access to any form of pension or gratuity”, he stated.
The Director-General who congratulated member states of WIPO despite the fact that the Treaty was coming into force about eight years after its conclusion in June 2012, urged participants at the Webinar to provide “initial thoughts on how the balanced application of the provisions of the Treaty could help Nigeria achieve its laudable objectives.”
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances was adopted by the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances, which took place in Beijing from June 20 to 26, 2012.
The Treaty modernises and updates for the digital era the protection for singers, musicians, dancers and actors in audiovisual performances. It upgrades the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (1961) and complements the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), which updated protection for performers and producers of phonograms.
The Beijing Treaty encompasses the performances of actors in different media, such as film and television, and also includes musicians when their musical performances are recorded in a DVD or any other audiovisual platform. It grants performers economic rights in fixed and unfixed performances, as well as certain moral rights.
Under the Beijing Treaty, performers are accorded four kinds of economic rights for their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations, namely the right of reproduction; the right of distribution; the right of rental; and the right of making available.
The Treaty obliges each contracting party to adopt, in accordance with its legal system, the measures necessary to ensure the application of the Treaty, including ensuring that enforcement procedures are available for effective action against any act of infringement of rights.
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that its planned Digital Switch-Over (DSO) project will create access to Nigeria’s N605.2 billion advertising market for broadcasters and content creators.
Speaking at a press conference, Charles Ebuebu, director-general, NBC, said the project is expected to officially launch nationwide on June 17, 2026, while analogue television broadcasting will completely end by December 31, 2028.
According to him, the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting will help government agencies deliver better television services across Nigeria in a way that is sustainable, reliable, and easier to regulate.
Ebuebu explained that digital broadcasting will allow broadcasters and content creators to earn more revenue because audience data can be measured more accurately.
He also said the project could benefit the economy through the release of valuable 700/800 MHz spectrum, which may generate more than $1 billion from future auctions.
The funds are expected to support digital infrastructure and expand broadband access in rural communities.
NBC added that Nigeria’s creative industry, which contributes about N5 trillion to GDP and supports more than 4.2 million jobs, could benefit from improved content distribution and export opportunities across West Africa using NigComSat-1R.
For consumers, NBC said the FreeTV service will not require monthly subscription payments. Households will only need a small satellite dish and an open-standard DVB-S2 decoder, estimated to cost between N15,000 and N25,000.
Broadcasters were encouraged to join the FreeTV platform and take advantage of an 18-month free carriage period.
However, the Commission noted that there is still an ongoing legal dispute involving local manufacturers over set-top boxes, although officials said this will not stop the national rollout.
On satellite expansion plans, Jane Egerton-Idehen, managing director and CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, said NIGCOMSAT 2A is expected in 2028, while NIGCOMSAT 2B is planned for 2029.
She added that backup arrangements have already been made to ensure uninterrupted service and that migration to the new system will happen gradually across different regions to avoid nationwide disruptions.
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has unveiled a new “Big Picture” strategy aimed at achieving full nationwide Digital Switch-Over (DSO) by December 31, 2028.
DSOis designed to provide Nigerians with superior picture and sound quality while unlocking an estimated N605.2 billion in advertising revenue and generating over $1 billion from digital spectrum auctions.
Charles Ebuebu, director-general of NBC, in a statement issued on Monday, said the revised strategy adopts a converged broadcasting model combining Direct-to-Home (DTH), Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Internet Protocol (IP) systems to expand access to digital television services nationwide.
The Commission also announced June 17, 2026, as the official national launch date for the renewed rollout, describing the framework as a more practical pathway toward a sustainable and affordable digital broadcasting system after nearly two decades of delays.
Ebuebu, said that the transition is no longer being treated as a competition between technologies but as a unified access solution tailored to Nigeria’s geographic and infrastructure realities.
“The Big Picture strategy recognises convergence as the future of broadcasting and aligns with the 2012 DSO White Paper, which adopted both terrestrial and satellite standards including DVB-T and DVB-S2 technologies,” the statement said.
NBC said the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) would play a central role in national content distribution, particularly in underserved and remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure remains weak.
The Commission cited countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Kenya, South Africa and Morocco as examples of jurisdictions that successfully adopted hybrid digital broadcasting models to accelerate migration from analogue systems.
On affordability, NBC assured Nigerians that the proposed FreeTV platform would remain subscription-free for baseline access, adding that compatible DVB-S2 decoders currently cost between N15,000 and N25,000. It said discussions were ongoing on possible subsidy arrangements and financing options for low-income households.
The regulator also defended its plan to support both local manufacturing and transitional importation of set-top boxes, noting that Nigeria would require millions of devices over several years to complete the migration.
Beyond transmission, NBC disclosed plans to introduce a national audience measurement system under the GARB ratings framework to improve advertising transparency and broadcasting analytics.
It projected that the DSO programme could unlock Nigeria’s estimated N605.2 billion advertising market while also freeing up valuable digital dividend spectrum estimated at over $1 billion.
NBC further said Nigeria’s creative industry, valued at about N5 trillion and employing more than 4.2 million people, stands to benefit from expanded distribution channels and improved content monetisation.
Broadcasters, it added, would enjoy free carriage on the platform for 18 months, alongside wider national reach, indigenous language channels and improved commercial opportunities.
Association of Licensed Set-Top Box Manufacturers of Nigeria (STBMAN) has warned that the unilateral implementation transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, could trigger confusion, legal disputes, and disruptions capable of undermining the credibility of the 2027 general election.
STBMAN urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and halt what it described as a unilateral implementation process, pending wider consultations with stakeholders in the broadcasting industry.
Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, chairman of the association in statement in Abuja, faulted the current implementation process by the National Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC).
STBMAN said that although it supports Nigeria’s digital migration programme, the approach currently being pursued by the NBC appeared rushed and inconsistent with the 2012 Digital Switchover (DSO) White Paper approved by the Federal Executive Council.
The association argued that the arrangement being presented as a Digital Switchover was merely the aggregation of channels on NigComSat platforms rather than a fully Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) migration as originally envisioned under the national DSO framework.
According to the group, failure to carry critical stakeholders along could erode public confidence, weaken access to information, and create avoidable disruptions in the broadcasting sector at a politically sensitive period ahead of the 2027 elections.
It noted that millions of Nigerians still depend on free-to-air broadcasting for information dissemination, civic education, election coverage,e and public enlightenment.
The group stressed that any poorly coordinated migration process could result in signal disruptions, public confusion, and unequal access to information during the election season.
STBMAN also expressed concern that the NBC risked creating a conflict of interest by acting simultaneously as regulator and content aggregator, contrary to the spirit of the 2012 White Paper and global best practices guiding digital broadcasting migration.
The association, therefore, called for an urgent national stakeholders’ roundtable, an independent legal and technical review of the DSO process, review and update of the 2012 DSO White Paper, nationwide public sensitisation on the implications of digital migration, and measures to protect local broadcasting and public interest.
It maintained that it was not opposed to digital migration but insisted that the process must be transparent, inclusive, lawful, and technically sound.
The group warned that failure to properly manage the transition could weaken democratic communication structures, waste public resources, and negatively affect national cohesion and the credibility of the 2027 elections.
“Mr. President, Nigeria cannot afford confusion in its broadcasting system at a time the nation is preparing for another critical democratic transition. The time to act is now,” the statement added.
Association of Licensed Set-Top Box Manufacturers of Nigeria, represents domestic electronics manufacturers responsible for producing the decoder boxes needed for the country’s transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.
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