The digital television platform in Nigeria just got better as MTN procured license from Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator, NBC, to use the 700 MHz spectrum to provide pay TV broadcasting services.
MTN purchased the license for NGN36 billion ($154 million), the money that NBC says it will apply into setting the country’s analog switchoff back on course. According to NBC, the money is only a little shy of 50% of its NGN70 billion ($351 million) switchover budget.
MTN’s move into cable TV services is significant. The telco has been racing to reduce reliance on voice as various OTT services like Whatsapp, Viber and others impinge upon that substrate of its services. In 2014, it rolled out a slew of services that made TechCabal conclude at the time that MTN was no longer just a Telco, but more.
It’s unclear how MTN will execute its cable service. The company has apparently been discreet about it. But it’s likely that it will draw heavily from what Safaricom already has in Kenya. It’s not the first time MTN is dabbling into paid-for video entertainment. In 2014, among of the fungible services it rolled out were DoBox and Afrinolly, both streaming services for Hollywood movies.
