In most developed and developing countries, pay television is affordable to the typical family. As a result, international channels such as CNN, BBC World, Sports and Reality TV shows are readily available for viewing at home. However, this is not the case in Nigeria. Pay television and its foreign programming content are still only available to the wealthy. As a result, the average Nigerian household is reliant on local television stations, which frequently provide limited content in terms of quality and variety.

While many Nigerian homes enjoy cable television, the expense of access is frequently cited as a major reason why many individuals do not subscribe.

Despite the fact that many people have discovered various methods to get around the difficulty by pirating cable TV signals using microwave antennas and enjoying the entertainment offered in the pay TV environment, only about 1% of Nigerian homes are linked.

As a result, it is typical in many neighborhoods to see people advertising famous programs on DSTV, such as the European Champions League and English Premiership Soccer matches, and demanding a fee for football lovers to view them.

All of this, however, may soon change with the projected entry of Entertainment Highway Television, a Nigerian-led initiative. According to the company, which announced last weekend that it would begin operations in December, it intends to provide affordable access to world-class television to the average Nigerian household through the use of technology.

Currently, the most popular pay TV service, which offers a Direct-to-Home service, costs over N35,000 in setup fees and as much as N9,000 in monthly expenses.

However, Entertainment Highway claims that the high admission fee and monthly fee will be reduced in order for more people to be able to view channels like Fox Sports, CNN, and local Nigerian television shows.

Miss Nnena Onyewuchi, the company’s Head of Marketing, said the decoder, antenna, and card would cost N25,000, with a monthly membership of N3,000. She also mentioned that the service will be financed. This would include an N6,000 deposit and a monthly payment of N4,999 for the equipment and subscription for a period of 12 months, albeit financing is only available to consumers who have a full-time employment and a bank account.

However, this initiative follows another service named MyTv, a Direct-to-Home service owned by Dubai-based Strong Technologies LLC.

The company’s goal, according to the company, is to provide something of interest to every member of the family, regardless of age, for around $0.50 (N65) each day.

Movies, sports, music, kids, news, and general interest channels make up the service. However, this service’s visibility is limited, and as a result, it is not yet widely used.

Mr. Benjamin Zidah, Entertainment Highways’ Head of Operations, says the company aspires to reach every home and dispel the myth that pay television would always be expensive. He explained that the company would not focus on the high-end market, which is currently handled by DSTV, but rather on every Nigerian home with its hypercable technology. By broadcasting signals like other terrestrial television stations, this method eliminates the need to be physically connected to satellite, as is the case with direct-to-home service.

But perhaps more intriguing is the firm’s announcement that it would build its own local channels in accordance with international standards. Subscribers will have access to 24 channels during the launch phase, including Hi Nolly, which features Nigerian home films, and Amuludun, a Yoruba language channel, according to Onyewuchi.

Although the technology utilized by Entertainment Highway allows numerous houses spread across a vast geographical area to be accessed, the sheer amount of labor required means that covering every section of the country will take some time. The company acknowledges this and stated that it wanted to cover the entire country by 2010.