Ghana’s government has opened formal negotiations with broadcasting industry stakeholders on a cost-sharing framework for the country’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform, as authorities move to place the digital broadcasting infrastructure on a financially sustainable footing after years of operating without meaningful cost recovery.
Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George met industry players this week to present a proposed channel carriage pricing model, describing the proposals as a basis for negotiation rather than a finalised policy position. He said any fees introduced would be designed collaboratively with broadcasters to ensure both fairness and long-term platform viability, and that industry participants would be given adequate time to review the framework and submit recommendations before any decisions are taken.
George was explicit that the DTT platform should not be approached as a revenue-generating venture at this stage, but rather as strategic national infrastructure requiring shared industry support to remain operational. He acknowledged that structural questions remain unresolved, including the management of shared broadcasting infrastructure and the allocation of cost obligations across the sector, and indicated government would ultimately take policy positions on those issues following consultation.
Broadcasters welcomed the engagement but called for deeper consultations and greater transparency in how carriage fees and pricing structures would eventually be determined. Industry participants pushed back against any perception that decisions had been predetermined, stressing that an inclusive and transparent process was essential to building confidence in the framework. They also underlined the DTT platform’s centrality to their operations, arguing that its financial stability is directly tied to the long-term survival of the broader broadcasting sector.
The discussions fall under the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, which has been working to finalise a series of unresolved issues surrounding Ghana’s digital broadcasting transition. The push for sustainable DTT financing reflects a wider pattern across Africa, where rising operational costs and rapidly shifting media consumption habits driven by streaming and online platforms are forcing governments to revisit the funding models underpinning digital broadcasting infrastructure.
