Pinnacle’s suit against NBC threatens digital switchover

With less than two months to the expiration of the deadline, Nigeria has not achieved up to 10% digitalization of its broadcast industry, owing largely to lack of funds, according to NBC. If the country fails to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting on June 17, it means that ITU will shut Nigeria out of […]

With less than two months to the expiration of the deadline, Nigeria has not achieved up to 10% digitalization of its broadcast industry, owing largely to lack of funds, according to NBC.
If the country fails to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting on June 17, it means that ITU will shut Nigeria out of broadcasting radar, especially if Niger, Cameroon, Benin and Chad are able to switch.
Experts told Daily Trust the ITU will shut Nigeria out because her analogue broadcast will be interfering with her neighbours’ digital broadcast if it is not blocked.  
But the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has said the ITU would not shut out Nigeria from broadcasting radar if it fails to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting by June 17.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja recently to announce a two-day International Digital Broadcasting summit to be held on Wednesday and Thursday this week, the BON chairman, Mr. Shola Omole, said the ITU would neither penalize the country nor shut it out of broadcasting even as it was becoming clearer that the country would not meet the deadline. Mr. Omole, who is also the Director General of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), said since many other African countries have not achieved the digital switch over, Nigeria’s inability to do so would not constitute any problem to neighbouring countries.
Speaking in an interview after the press briefing, the Director General of NBC, Emeka Mba, said it was doubtful if Nigeria would switch over by June 17. He said lack of funds inhibited the switch over project as set top boxes are not available yet. He said the devices’ manufacturers needed incentive from government before they could start production but they have got nothing as NBC was not buoyant enough to give them.
Pinnacle at a press briefing in Abuja penultimate Thursday also said from all indications it seems Nigeria is not ready to switch over in June. The company said the set top boxes, which will enable viewers to receive digital TV broadcasting, are yet to be available and also the NBC’s “double standard”, which has made the company to drag it to court, are two major obstacles standing in the way of Nigeria and digital switch over.
“This is why Pinnacle believes that NBC is deceiving the federal government and Nigerians by making it seem that the country is transiting from analogue to digital broadcast transmission, whereas there is nothing on the ground to show for it,” a major stakeholder and one of the two licensed signal distributors said.
Speaking to journalists, Pinnacle’s Executive Director, Mr. Dipo Onifade, said failure on part of NBC to do its groundwork preparations that would make the switch over possible will sure prevent the country from achieving the digitisation.
Mr. Onifade also said NBC had failed to follow the white paper on digital migration process. He said the broadcast industry regulator is also giving undue advantage to the foreign owned media companies by allowing them  to be content providers as well as signal distributors.  He said by allowing the foreign companies to distribute signals, NBC has automatically shut them out of business.
He said: “The NBC had changed the rules and introduced new dimensions to the industry, including the appointment of a single content aggregator for Nigeria to capture all free to air channels on satellite and terrestrial platforms, and the exemptions given to pay TV operators to carry their own signals.
“The two indigenous signal distributors have been restricted from broadcasting signals that are free to Nigerians by allowing the so-called Pay TV (foreign operators) to carry the same Free to Air (FTA) contents which Nigerians must now pay for in order to watch. On the other hand, the two indigenous signal distributors cannot carry Pay TV channels.
 “All of the developments in the broadcast industry undermine White Paper and the draft license which form part of the Request for Proposals (RFP).”
And this is why the company has taken NBC to court. Pinnacle’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu SAN, has asked the court to order specific performance of the contract.
The former NBA boss in the suit filed on behalf of his client, at the Federal High Court Abuja is demanding N1.2 trillion damages from both the NBC and its DG.
Those listed as defendants are the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Director General of the Commission, Mr. Emeka Mba; Attorney General of the Federation, Muhammed Bello Adoke; MTS Communications Limited; Details Nigeria Limited(GoTV) and NTA-Star Network Limited.
In a 55 paragraph statement of claim in support of the suit, Pinnacle Communications Limited, alleged that there was a breach of contractual agreement in the contract between it and the NBC.
The contractual agreement provides that only two signal distributors are to be licensed at the initial stage, and that market conditions could require licensing of additional signal distributors.
But the signal distribution company (Pinnacle Communications Limited) which won a carrier license made available by the federal government, alleged that NBC as the regulatory agency of the government, rescinded on the agreement, as contained in the federal government white paper on transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting.
Pinnacle also claimed that NBC had presented that there was no other digital terrestrial signal distributors in Nigeria apart from Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), and showcased Pinnacle Communications as the second and only other terrestrial signal distributor in Nigeria.
According to Pinnacle, the NBC allegedly contravened this provision as it issued licenses to two other signal distribution companies including Details Nigeria Limited, under the name and style of GoTV and MTS Communications.
It stated that the award of approvals, authorizations and licences by NBC and its DG to MTS Communications Limited, Details Nigeria Limited(GoTV) and NTA-Star Network Limited were not made public.
The plaintiff stated that there will be a technical glut of infrastructure with insufficient channels and content if all five operators are to roll out concurrently.
Pinnacle communications is further praying the court to grant an order of perpetual injunction, restraining GoTv, NTA-Star Network and MTS Communications Limited from engaging in the business of signal distribution under the current licensing framework.
The company also alleged that NBC granted GoTV an undue advantage, by awarding the company a license as a content producer and signal distributor, as against the position of the white paper, which stipulated that a content producer cannot transmit digital television signals to households.
Pinnacle is praying the court for an order, setting aside the licenses awarded to MTS Communications Limited, Details Nigeria Limited (GoTV) and NTA-Star Network Limited, by the NBC without due process. Pinnacle is seeking an order of perpetual injunction, restraining MTS communications, GoTV and Startimes or their subsidiaries from deploying or rolling out or distribute any terrestrial digital signals in Nigeria.
The company is demanding the sum of N1.2 trillion as damages, being loss of earnings and profits arising from the breaches by NBC.
It is also seeking refund of the sum of N618 million being fee paid to the NBC for the purported terrestrial digital signal license, the sum of N85.3 million, being expenses incurred between March 20 and November 14, 2014,  and the sum of N10 million as damages for fraudulent manipulation of an open bidding process.