Building White Elephants in the Age of Streaming: Why FreeTV Is a 20th-Century Solution to a 21st-Century Media Industry

FreeTV's Regional Production Hubs: Solving the Wrong Problem

The Federal Government's renewed FreeTV initiative, particularly its proposal to establish Regional Production Hubs across Nigeria, has been promoted as a major step toward revitalising the nation's broadcasting industry. While the goals of expanding local content, creating jobs and promoting regional storytelling are laudable, the strategy itself appears fundamentally misplaced.

Rather than tackling the real challenges facing the media industry, the proposal risks becoming another costly white elephant project—investing billions of naira in infrastructure for a broadcast model that the rest of the world is rapidly leaving behind.

The central question is simple: What problem is government trying to solve?

Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of production studios, filmmakers or creative talent. Across the country, thousands of independent production companies, studios, animators, documentary producers and digital creators already possess the capacity to produce world-class content. Their greatest challenge is not infrastructure but access to financing and commissioning opportunities.

Broadcasters, meanwhile, are grappling with declining advertising revenues, shrinking audiences and rising operating costs. Most no longer have the financial capacity to commission original programming at scale. Building additional government-owned production facilities will not solve this market failure; it merely duplicates infrastructure that already exists.

Even more concerning is the fact that FreeTV itself appears rooted in an outdated broadcasting philosophy. At a time when audiences increasingly consume content through streaming services, mobile devices and on-demand platforms, the proposal seeks to expand a traditional linear television ecosystem whose commercial relevance is steadily declining.

The global media industry is investing in streaming platforms, connected television, digital advertising, artificial intelligence and creator-led content ecosystems. Audience behaviour has shifted from scheduled broadcasting to personalised, on-demand viewing. Public investment should reflect this reality, not attempt to revive yesterday's technology.

The proposed production hubs also raise serious commercial concerns. Who will own and operate them? How will they be funded after construction? Who will bear the recurring costs of maintenance, equipment upgrades, staffing and utilities? Without a sustainable business model, these facilities risk joining the long list of government projects that begin with great promise but eventually fall into neglect.

More importantly, government should be enabling private enterprise, not competing with it. By building and operating production facilities, the state risks crowding out existing private studios and discouraging investment in an industry that should be driven by innovation and competition.

If the objective is to strengthen Nigeria's creative economy, there are more effective alternatives. Government resources would generate far greater impact if channelled into content commissioning funds, production finance guarantees, low-interest creative industry loans, tax incentives, digital distribution platforms and investment in Nigerian streaming technology. Such interventions would immediately empower thousands of existing producers, create sustainable employment and increase the global competitiveness of Nigerian content.

The future of broadcasting will not be determined by the number of production hubs or transmission towers government builds. It will be determined by the strength of its content, the sustainability of its financing, the reach of its digital platforms and its ability to compete in a global, on-demand media economy.

Nigeria does not need more government-owned studios. It needs a forward-looking digital media policy that empowers creators, attracts private investment, supports streaming innovation and positions Nigerian content for global audiences.

Unless the FreeTV strategy is reimagined around these priorities, it risks becoming yet another expensive public investment in yesterday's technology—a white elephant built for an audience that has already moved on.