By Prince Osuagwu, Hi-Tech Editor
The days of guessing who is actually watching television in Nigeria may be coming to an end as the country begins the rollout of a new Audience Measurement System, AMS, designed to put hard data behind television ratings, advertising decisions and content development.
The Phase 1 rollout, which commenced in Lagos, introduces a Peoplemeter-based Television Audience Measurement, TAM, service that will passively track viewing habits in selected households and transmit the data daily to a central data centre.
Driven by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, under the FreeTV brand, the initiative is expected to give broadcasters, advertisers, content producers and regulators a clearer picture of who is watching, what they are watching and when they are watching.
The development also comes on the heels of the revitalised Digital Switch-Over, DSO, platform launched in June 2026 at the NigComSat headquarters in Abuja.
While the DSO provides the digital infrastructure for Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, the AMS is expected to provide the data layer needed to determine how audiences interact with the growing number of digital television channels.
For advertisers, the implication is significant. Instead of relying largely on estimates and traditional diary-based audience research, media planners will have access to more precise audience information to determine where advertising money should go.
For broadcasters and content producers, the data could also influence programming, investment and content decisions, while regulators could use it to better understand developments in the broadcasting market.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the rollout as another step towards building a modern and data-driven broadcasting industry, commending FMEIL-GARB, NBC and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, for their efforts to establish a reliable national audience measurement system.
According to Idris, AMS goes beyond measuring television ratings, as reliable audience data could improve programming, help advertisers make better decisions, strengthen investor confidence and create opportunities across Nigeria’s media and creative industries. “At its core, AMS helps us better understand our audiences: who is watching, what they are watching, and when they are watching,” he said. He added that the initiative was consistent with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on digital transformation, innovation, investment, job creation and economic diversification.
Idris, however, acknowledged that public awareness and trust remain major issues, particularly because some households selected for the panel may no longer remember participating in the Establishment Survey from which the panel is being drawn.
He urged the organisers to maintain transparency and respect for the privacy of participating households, while calling on the media to properly educate Nigerians about the system. “The success of an initiative of this nature depends not only on the technology involved, but also on public understanding and confidence,” he said.
The Lagos deployment followed technical testing and a proof-of-concept pilot conducted in selected Lagos homes. Results from the pilot were presented to stakeholders in Abuja in the second quarter of 2024, confirming the functionality of the Peoplemeter devices, data-enabled routers and backend data centre infrastructure.
The households now being recruited for the Lagos panel are being selected from Nigeria’s first nationwide Establishment Survey, which covered 60,000 households across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, including 7,000 households in Lagos.
Statistical criteria are being applied to ensure the Lagos panel accurately represents the television-owning population.
Explaining the recruitment process, Chief Operating Officer of FMEIL-GARB, Patrick Gomes, said prospective panellists are contacted by trained recruiters using a structured process before technicians are sent to install the equipment.
“As part of the process of calling prospective homes to join the panel — to introduce, brief and persuade — our recruiters are fully trained and guided by a structured, step-by-step approach, with complete scripts, prompts and answers to frequently asked questions,” Gomes said.
“The process concludes with a confirmation text message to the chosen household, detailing the date, time and technician’s name for security verification. Thereafter, trained technicians install the Peoplemeter device and data router in the homes of chosen panellists, ensuring that television viewing data is securely transmitted to our data centre daily.”
Participating households will receive a monthly data incentive, while the information generated is expected to provide the industry with a common currency for measuring audience size and composition.
Director-General of NBC, Charles Ebuebu, described the development as a transformative milestone for the broadcasting industry.
“The rollout of this Audience Measurement System marks a transformative milestone for Nigeria’s broadcasting ecosystem,” Ebuebu said.
“By providing accurate, passive tracking of audience consumption patterns, the system addresses long-standing industry challenges and brings unprecedented transparency to advertising media preferences.”
He said NBC was committed to ensuring that feedback from broadcasters, advertisers and measurement providers helped create a resilient and value-driven market.
Also endorsing the initiative, Director-General of ARCON, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, said audience measurement had become critical as advertisers contend with fragmented media platforms, shrinking marketing budgets and increasing pressure to demonstrate returns on advertising investment.
“Audience measurement offers a huge advantage to the Nigerian advertising industry and stakeholders. We operate in an increasingly fragmented media landscape with reduced marketing budgets, cost-benefit analysis and return-on-advertising-investment measurement. These and other vitals are forcing advertisers to push for more with less funds,” Fadolapo said.
He added: “This reality makes audience measurement not only important but also primary to the justification of advertising spend and the growth of the industry.”
The Lagos rollout represents Phase 1 of the national programme. Phase 2 will extend the system to Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, while Phase 3 will cover other major media markets across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
When fully deployed, the system is expected to provide Nigeria with a pan-Nigerian picture of television consumption, potentially changing how broadcasters value their audiences, how advertisers spend their money and how content creators decide what Nigerians want to watch.
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