The country on Wednesday took a step into the era of telecommunications, broadcasting and media convergence as MTN Nigeria commenced the pilot of its digital television broadcasting service in Jos, Plateau State.
The TV service, which goes live today (Thursday), is sequel to the issuance of a digital broadcast licence to MTN for N34bn, by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 2015.
Aside the N34bn, sources said that the telecoms company had spent about N25bn extra to get the TV running.
With the service, MTN Nigeria Executive, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said Nigerians could now watch TV programmes on their smartphones and other devices via Over-the-Top platforms like WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook and Twitter, among others.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, subscribers will have the freedom to watch their favourite programmes when they choose the MTN Video-on-Demand service, “rather than having to watch at a specific broadcast time.”
“This will be the first fully converged broadcast and OTT-VOD service to launch in MTN,” he said.
Moolman added that MTN was committed to providing Nigerians with innovative digital platforms, “which will enhance the way we live, work and play.”
He said, “Once we commence full commercial activities, the TV service will deliver an exciting bouquet of rich local and international content to Nigerians.
“Indeed, the launch of MTN TV is another bold demonstration of MTN’s abiding faith in the future of Nigeria, driving growth and development by enabling Nigerians to keep pace with the latest global trends and converged solutions.”
Saint-Nwafor also stated that MTN’s vision was to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.
“We are committed to exploring opportunities and avenues to expand our digital footprint and value offering to our customers. We are, therefore, constantly seeking appropriate channels to place the latest technologies and services in the hands of Nigerians, and this is one of such,” she added.
Meanwhile, a report after the Annual General Meeting of the MTN Group on Wednesday stated that MTN Nigeria’s data revenue in the first four months of 2016 declined by 12 per cent mainly due to the withdrawing of regulatory services.
