A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE DIGITAL SWITCHOVER PROCESS IN NIGERIA AND NEW ZEALAND. BY ABIKANLU, OLORUNFEMI ENI. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION. UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY 2018 DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the God that makes all things possible. Also, to my awesome and loving Wife and Daughter, Marissa and Enïola. i | P a g e ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I heartily acknowledge the support, unrelentless commitment and dedication of my supervisors, Dr. Zita Joyce and Dr. Babak Bahador who both ensured that these thesis meets an international level of academic research. I value their advice and contributions to the thesis and without their highly critical reviews and feedback, the thesis will be nothing than a complete recycle of existing knowledge. I also appreciate the valuable contributions of my Examiners, Professor Jock Given of the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and Assistant Professor Gregory Taylor of the University of Calgary, Canada. The feedback and report of the Examination provided the much needed critical evaluation of my research to improve my research findings. I also appreciate Associate Professor Donald Matheson for chairing my oral examination. I also appreciate the University of Canterbury for providing me with various opportunities to acquire valuable skills in my course of research, academic learning support, teaching and administrative works. Particularly, I appreciate Professor Linda Jean Kenix, who gave me an opportunity as a research assistant during the course of my research. I value this rare opportunity as it was my first major exposure to academic research and an opportunity to understand the academia beyond my research topic. Finally, I appreciate my parents, Olusola and Florence Abikanlu for their moral supports and prayers. I also appreciate my Mother-in-Law, Avelyne Saïbou and all my extended families for visiting in the course of my research. ii | P a g e ABSTRACT The Digital Switchover (DSO) process was conceived at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06) on June 16, 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. Digital transmission was viewed as a global solution to the problem of frequency congestion associated with analogue television transmission. Subsequently, the New Zealand government announced its final shut-down of analogue television transmission and completed transition to digital transmission in 2012, but the implementation of the global agreement is yet to be completed in Nigeria. This thesis is a comparative study of the DSO process in New Zealand and Nigeria over the first ten years (2007-2017) of this global agreement. The two qualitative research methods used in this study, communication policy analysis and semi-structured interviews, work together to examine the existing power relations between nation states and transnational structures, the direction of policies and approach to governance, and the individual experience of some participants involved in the DSO process in Nigeria and New Zealand. A critique of the neoliberal free market system helps to conceptualize the push for market deregulation of the media environment, as the neoliberal approach to the global mediaspace was instituted by the transnational actors of global and trade and capital. These international actors include the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Bretton Woods institutions. The theoretical framework summarizes the effect of the WTO’s multilateral trade agreements and the policy- centred lending framework of the Bretton Woods Institutions on the market economies in New Zealand and Nigeria. From analysis of the international institutions, the thesis argues that the DSO process is a new strategy to enact the neoliberal free market system on the global mediaspace and redefine the role of global media and communication institutions in the digital era. The analysis of the digitized television environments considered in this study suggests that the DSO process mostly serves the interest of the state and the telecommunication market. Finally, the thesis finds that successful completion of the transition process by the ITU scheduled date is dependent on an inclusive state-market participation. Keywords: Digital Television, Digital Switchover Process, Policy, Governance, International Telecommunications Union, Neoliberal free market, Nigeria, New Zealand iii | P a g e LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. 1 Structure of Broadcast governance in South Africa. .......................................................... 28 Figure 4. 1 The conception of the global network of Neoliberal Institutions ....................................... 75 Figure 7. 1 A pictorial representation of major shareholders (2006-2012) in Sky Television Network Limited before the Going Digital campaign in September 2012. Data retrieved from the Sky Television Network Limited Annual Reports (2006-2012). ............................................................... 101 Figure 7. 2. A pictorial representation of major shareholders (2013) in Sky Television Network Limited during the Going Digital campaign in September 2012. Data retrieved from the Sky Television Network Limited Annual Reports (2013). ........................................................................ 102 Figure 7. 3. A pictorial representation of the major shareholders (2015) in Spark New Zealand after the Going Digital campaign in September 2012. Data retrieved from the Spark New Zealand Annual Reports (2015). ................................................................................................................................... 104 Figure 7. 4. A pictorial representation of the major shareholders (2016) in Spark New Zealand after the Going Digital campaign in September 2012. Data retrieved from the Spark New Zealand Annual Reports (2016). ................................................................................................................................... 105 Figure 7. 5. A pictorial representation of the major shareholders (2016) in Two Degrees Mobile Limited after the Going Digital campaign in September 2012. .......................................................... 107 iv | P a g e LIST OF TABLES Table 2. 1 Ownership structure of the Nigeria digital environment. .................................................... 21 Table 2. 2 Ownership structure of the South Africa digital environment as at December 2015. ......... 26 Table 5. 1 700 MHz Auction on June 19, 2014: Notice of Provisional Results. ............................... 103 Table 7. 1 700 MHz Auction: Notice of Provisional Results. ............................................................. 154 v | P a g e LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANC African National Congress BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BCNNL Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria Limited BEE Black Economic Empowerment BskyB British Sky Broadcasting CCK Communication Commission of Kenya CCP Communist Party of China CCTV Central China Television DSD Digital Signal Distribution DSO Digital Switchover DTH Direct-to-Home DTT Digital Terrestrial Television DTV Digital Television DVD Digital Versatile Disc DVR Digital Video Recorder ECA Electronic Communications Act EFCC Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ENTV Eastern Nigeria Television Service EOI Expression of Interest EPG Electronic Programme Guide EPL English Premier League FCC Federal Communication Commission FDI Foreign Direct Investment FEC Federal Executive Council FOCAC Forum of China and Africa Cooperation FRCN Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria FTA Free-to-air GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GDP Gross Domestic Product HbbTV Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television HD High Definition HSBC Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation vi | P a g e IBA Independent Broadcasting Authority ICASA Independent Communication Authority of South Africa IFI International Financial Institutions IMF International Monetary Funds ITS Integrated Television Service ITU International Telecommunications Union JSE Johannesburg Stock Exchange MBIE Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment MCH Ministry of Culture and Heritage MED Ministry of Economic Development MHz Megahertz MoC Minister of Communication NBC National Broadcasting Commission NCNC National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun NP National Party NP National Party NPC Northern People’s Congress NTA Nigerian Television Authority NTS Nigerian Television Service NTS Nigerian Television Service NZBS New Zealand Broadcasting Service NZD New Zealand Dollar NZOA New Zealand on Air PAC Presidential Advisory Committee PCL Pinnacle Communication Limited PSB Public Service Broadcasting RDS Radio Diffusion Services RSM Radio Spectrum Management SABC South Africa Broadcasting Corporation SAP Structural Adjustment Policies SATRA South African Telecommunications Authority SOE State-Owned Enterprise SSA Sub-Saharan Africa SSS State Security Service vii | P a g e STB Set-Top Boxes TVNZ Television New Zealand UNESCO United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization URTNA Union of Radio and Television Networks in Africa VON Voice of Nigeria WNTV Western Television WTO World Trade Organization viii | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. i LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................................................