INTERNET PENETRATION AND THE ADOPTION OF TELEVISION STREAMING AMONG STAKEHOLDERS IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

INTERNET PENETRATION AND THE ADOPTION OF TELEVISION STREAMING AMONG STAKEHOLDERS IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study 

Many breakthroughs have resulted from advances in computer technology, particularly with the introduction of the Internet. The growth of the Internet is transforming a variety of global industries, including the media sector. Television streaming, the process by which television stations make media content available online, is one of the cutting-edge ways the Internet is being used in the media sector. In accordance with Okoro’s (2006) definition of technological convergence, it is “the ongoing progress in media technology aimed at bringing about a mix in technologies in the process of message delivery” (p. This implies that computer and television technology will eventually converge, giving rise to television streaming.

This implies that computer and television technology will eventually converge, giving rise to television streaming. Television streaming is the “quintessential digital convergence media tying together television, telecommunications, the Internet, and computer applications,” according to Gerbarg and Noam (2003), who define it as such on page xxi.

Before the Internet, television stations were constrained by geographic restrictions and the strength of the airwaves. Because not all viewers were able to express their ideas or opinions about events happening in the world, the feedback mechanism for television viewers was also either constrained or delayed. Also, viewers of television had access to a limited number of programs at a specific time. As a result, television viewers frequently have a small selection of available shows to choose from, and there was no other way to catch up on a show they had missed. Yet, because they are not constrained by on-air signal or coverage, television streaming offers media companies a venue to reach a bigger audience. As a result, viewers from different locations can access the internet material of television stations. The audience has something to gain by watching television shows online as well. With the invention of television streaming, viewers may watch their preferred television shows from anywhere in the world as long as they have an Internet connection. As a result, television viewers frequently have a small selection of available shows to choose from, and there was no other way to catch up on a show they had missed. Yet, because they are not constrained by on-air signal or coverage, television streaming offers media companies a venue to reach a bigger audience. As a result, viewers from different locations can access the internet material of television stations. The audience has something to gain by watching television shows online as well. With the invention of television streaming, viewers may watch their preferred television shows from anywhere in the world as long as they have an Internet connection.

It also reduces the frequency by which audiences miss television programmes because they can now access missed favourite programmes using Video on Demand (VoD) television viewing on the Internet. With a laptop or a mobile phone, audience can connect to a television station’s website in order to watch programmes as television programmes can now be viewed on the move and this elevates television to a mobile medium status.

Ikpe and Olise (2010) and Livingstone (2003) observed that with television streaming, the scope of television coverage is enhanced; the geographical signal limitation of a television station is eliminated as it paves way for a broader and wider audience cutting across geographical boundaries. The need for the adoption of television streaming is imperative as the media audience is shifting from the traditional media to the new media due to its feedback mechanism which enhances interactivity among media professionals and media audiences. For a smooth streaming experience however, Mirza and Beltrán (2014) argued that high-speed broadband technologies should be in place to enhance individual consumption. For this to be achieved, streaming media applications are compressed to be compatible with the end users’ Internet connectivity. This implies that streaming services take into consideration the availability and quality of Internet connectivity that the end users possess.

According to Vliet (2002), the Internet is a worldwide network that allows millions of users to exchange data with a number of networks connected to a single organization. According to Pratama and Al-Shaikh (2012), the Internet is also the “symbol of technological era,” p. The widespread use of the Internet in the twenty-first century has not only led to changes in the media sector but also in every other area of the business. With the invention of radio and television streaming, it may be claimed that Internet technology has altered the face of broadcasting. Broadcasters started streaming their programs online in an effort to take advantage of the Internet’s technological advancements and to keep up with the audience’s transition to new media.

For the audiences to view television programmes in a synchronised fashion on the Internet, it is required that there should be ubiquitous and affordable broadband (Gerbarg & Noam, 2003). While this may be taken for granted in the developed countries of the West for example, it however raises questions on infrastructures that are in place to enhance Internet access and connectivity in a country such as Nigeria.

Internet penetration, which largely can determine the extensive utilisation of the total broadband capacity available refers to the proportion of people that have access to the Internet and those that do not have access to the Internet. In addition, it measures the growth of Internet access in a given geographical region. Statistics have shown a rise in the number of people that access the Internet over the span of 15 years in Nigeria. For example, Internet World Stats (2016); Internet Society (2016) and Premium Times (2016) reported that Internet users as at August 2016 have increased to 93,524,398 on both Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks. Internet users can thus access the Internet either using the mobile Internet platform or the fixed Internet known as the CDMA provided by telecommunication services. Internet users with existing Internet infrastructures can now access the Internet through computer devices such as smart phone, other mobile phones that have Internet features- tablets and laptops.

Studies have however shown that demographic characteristics of respondents such as age, education, income, employment status, gender and marital status determine the use of the Internet and the adoption of television streaming. This led to the summation of Penard, Poussing, Mukoko, Tamokwe (2013); Rhee and Kim (2004); Yang and Kang (2006) that the young, educated and employed are major users of the Internet because this class of people are expected to have the necessary computer skills needed for Internet operation and the adoption of television streaming. Television streaming adopters to an extent must also possess the technical skills needed in operating computer devices before they can opt for watching television programmes online. Viard and Economides (2011) also argued that Internet content will be more attractive to those that are educated and can read in English because most Internet contents are in English language. The demographic characteristics have led to what is called digital divide- “the gap between those who have effective access to and exploit the potential of IT and those who do not” (Niehaves & Plattfaut, 2014, p. 2).

Some of the factors affecting Internet use in Nigeria, according to the Internet Society, Nigeria Chapter (2016) and West (2015), include a lack of technical know-how, the high cost of purchasing computer equipment, the high cost of Internet subscriptions, and a negative attitude brought on by security-related problems like cybercrimes when using the Internet. According to West (2015), economic levels are obstacles to using the Internet, and unless low-income earners have access to free goods and affordable gadgets, they might not be able to do so. However, expensive devices and high data costs may make it difficult for high-income earners to use the Internet, and even in cases where data subscriptions are available, they may not be used as a primary method of watching television due to the large amount of data required to view live programming online.

1.2  Statement of the Problem

The television industry has seen changes due to increasing globalization, fierce competition, and technological advancement; it is currently transitioning from analog to digital, and more recently, it is changing from content distribution over the airwaves to content delivery online. The development of streaming television programs via the Internet was made possible by the development of the Internet over time. According to statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2016, the number of Internet users in Nigeria increased from 78,740 in 2000 to 93,524,398 in August 2016. Nigeria now has the largest Internet user population in Africa because to this increase (Abikoye & Salihu, 2016). This is demonstrated by the fact that, as of August 2016, out of 182, 202 000 residents of Nigeria, about half (52.1% of the population) have access to the Internet. Nevertheless, as Internet access grows, there is a lack of Internet infrastructure to support it. As a result, traffic on current Internet infrastructure increases, which has a detrimental impact on Internet broadband penetration. According to Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Internet broadband penetration was at 20 percent as of October 2016. By 2018, that percentage is expected to reach 30 percent.

As a bid to further increase broadband access, Globacom (GLO) network in April 2016 and MTN Nigeria in October 2016 joined other Internet service providers such as Smile Communications, Spectranet, IPNX and Swift networks that have rolled out the 4G LTE technology in Nigeria. Presently, Globacom covers only subscribers in Lagos State and MTN covers Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. While this is a notable development in Internet access, the 4G wireless technology has little significance on Internet broadband penetration until 4G can spread across the country.

For instance, in May 2016 a thousand naira could buy more data than it could in 2015. Though this is a landmark achievement, large amount of data which is proportionally expensive is still needed to watch television programmes. Furthermore, the proposed communication tax in the heat of the present economic recession in Nigeria has implication for broadband access, cost of data subscription and television streaming.

Furthermore, the National Broadband Plan (2013) highlighted that the high cost of Internet access continues to be a major barrier to having Internet in every home. Monopoly in the telecommunications sector and NCC regulation of data prices are two factors cited as contributing to the high cost of Internet data. However, the NCC’s deregulation of data prices in October 2015 and the abolition of the data floor price prompted the telecommunications sector to determine its own data rates. As a result, the price of data subscriptions has decreased. In May 2016, Airtel Nigeria was the first competition to lower the price of its data subscription. Afterwards, other rivals did the same. While 4G wireless network is expected to provide wireless download speeds of about 1Gbps in local area network (LAN) and 100 Mbps in wide area network (WAN) which is about 260 times greater than 3G wireless networks (Akintoye, 2013) 4G network is not evenly distributed. These existing challenges of Internet penetration can mitigate the extent to which television stations can actively get involved in live streaming of programmes because it is paramount for television operators to have access to steady broadband facilities. In addition, with low speed Internet connectivity, poor existing Internet infrastructure and digital divide in rural and urban centers (ITU, 2015; Mirza and Beltrán, 2014; Maciejewski, Fischerand Roginska, 2014), television stations may find it challenging adopting television streaming. As such, how readily accessible are television live and on-demand streams to Internet users and to what extent do respondents have the necessary computer literacy skills needed to adopt television streaming? With audience shift to new media technologies as a result of its interactivity and enhanced feedback, do they find television streaming easy to adopt and useful especially with the size of data subscription which is proportionally costly to watch television programmes online? Past studies on new technology often approach it from the economic and technological side while consumers’ needs which determine the success of television streaming is often neglected (Yang & Kang, 2006). More so, studies have shown that demography of audience such as income, age, gender and educational status go a long way in influencing Internet usage.

These inquiries must be addressed because viewers can now watch television outside of the sitting room as long as they are linked to the Internet (ITU, 2015). While developing nations are still working to adopt Internet-based television streaming, the lack of widespread broadband Internet connectivity will negatively affect how easily users can access television streaming content, which could further deter Internet users from watching television shows on television stations’ websites. Based on the foregoing, the researcher looked at how stakeholders in a few states in South-West Nigeria reacted to the introduction of television streaming.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main goal of this study was to determine how Internet penetration affected stakeholders in South-West Nigeria’s adoption of television streaming. The precise goals are to:
1. ascertain the extent of Internet usage in South-West Nigeria;
2. quantify the amount of South-West Nigerians who access television station websites to watch television programming;
3. assess the amount to which residents’ adoption of television streaming in South-West Nigeria is influenced by their level of computer literacy;
4. ascertain the degree to which residents’ adoption of television streaming in South-West Nigeria is facilitated by perceived ease of use;
5. Determine how much ease of use encourages citizens of South-West Nigeria to adopt television streaming;

6. investigate the obstacles preventing South-West Nigerians from using television streaming;
7. determine the degree to which particular South-West Nigerian television stations have the necessary capability to create live feeds;
8. determine how frequently certain South-West Nigerian television stations post their daily live or on-demand programming to the Internet;
9. learn what obstacles South-West Nigerian television stations have in adopting television streaming;
10. Determine the main variations in South-West Nigerian people’ adoption of streaming television based on demographic factors.

1.4 Research Questions

1. How widespread is Internet usage in South-West Nigeria?
2. To what extent do people in South-West Nigeria visit the websites of television stations to watch television shows?
3. To what extent do computer literacy skills in South-West Nigerian citizens encourage the use of television streaming?
4. To what extent does perceived simplicity of usage encourage citizens of South-West Nigeria to adopt television streaming?
5. How does ease of use in South-West Nigeria encourage residents to use streaming television?
6. What barriers exist in South-West Nigeria that prevent locals from utilizing television streaming?
7. To what extent do particular South-West Nigerian television stations have the necessary technology to create live streams?

8. determine how frequently certain South-West Nigerian television stations post their daily live or on-demand programming to the Internet;
9. learn what obstacles South-West Nigerian television stations have in adopting television streaming;
10. Determine the main variations in South-West Nigerian people’ adoption of streaming television based on demographic factors.

1.5  Hypotheses

H1 The adoption of streaming television by locals is greatly influenced by the availability of Internet infrastructure.
H2 South-West Nigerians’ acceptance of television streaming is substantially influenced by their access to the Internet.
Residents in South-West Nigeria’s adoption of streaming television is greatly influenced by H3 Broadband Penetration.
H4 The price of data subscriptions has a big impact on locals’ use of streaming television.
H5 Internet penetration, when regulated by South-West Nigerians’ attitudes, has a considerable impact on how they use streaming television.

H6 Demographic characteristics significantly influence residents’ adoption of television streaming
H7 Computer literacy skills significantly influences residents’ adoption of television streaming in South-West Nigeria.
H8 Perceived Usefulness significantly influences respondents’ adoption of television streaming in South-West Nigeria.
H9 Ease of Use significantly influences residents’ adoption of television streaming in South-West Nigeria.
H10There is a significant difference in adoption of television streaming by demographic characteristics across residents in South-West Nigeria.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study looked at how much Internet penetration affected stakeholders in South-West Nigeria’s adoption of television streaming. Few research have evaluated the degree to which Internet penetration effects the adoption of television streaming in Nigeria, where television has lately gained popularity. As a result, the researcher would greatly profit from the study’s findings because they would allow him or her to push the boundaries of what is known about television streaming research. Also, it will give other scholars empirical information on which to base future research on Nigeria’s use of new media and information and communication technologies. The International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) data bank would benefit from the study’s information about Internet usage in West-South Nigeria. The ITU would receive statistical data from this that they could use to determine the level of Internet penetration in Nigeria.

This study would be beneficial to Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Broadcasting Commission and Internet Service Providers as it would show the extent to which Internet access have penetrated the studied areas. At the same time, the findings from the study would provide data on the challenges stakeholders encounter in accessing the Internet and reveal the extent to which the demographic characteristics of respondents influences the Internet penetration. This information would therefore aid NCC and Internet Service Providers on the need to improve on existing communication policies that will improve Internet infrastructure in the country. This in turn would enhance Internet access, pave way for high speed Internet connectivity and reduce the cost of Internet access.

Knowing how Internet users access and embrace television streaming might be useful information for television broadcasters. Knowing how research participants feel about the idea of streaming television would also be helpful to television stations. Results would also assist television networks in identifying the difficulties that users of the Internet face while attempting to access streamed material on their websites and in making improvements in those areas to clear the way for a positive streaming experience.

1.7 Scope of the Study

South-West Nigeria was the focus of this study on the impact of Internet penetration on the adoption of television streaming among stakeholders. Residents over the age of 18 and South-West television stations were the study’s stakeholders. Ages 18 and up were taken into account for this study because it is largely the conventional age for adulthood and independence. In addition, children under the age of 18 in Nigeria are mostly dependent on and subject to controls put in place by their parents and guardians to limit what they watch.

Out of the six states in South-West Nigeria, two states were selected using the simple random sampling technique. On the other hand, three television stations were selected from three states in South-West- one federal government owned television station, one state owned and one privately owned television station. This study was from January 2016 to January 2017. This is to ensure that literature consulted is in tandem and within the period in which data was collected.

South-West Nigeria was chosen for this study because its west coast is home to fiber optic cables that feed the West Africa Aggregation of broadband infrastructure. As a result, it is likely that the West will have more widespread access to Internet infrastructure than other regions of the world.

1.8  Operational Definition of Terms

Internet Penetration: The spread of the Internet is referred to as Internet Penetration. It refers to how much Internet access research participants in South-West Nigeria have. Yet, because it is composed of a number of other variables, Internet penetration is a hidden quantity and cannot be directly quantified. Internet Penetration, the independent variable, was therefore determined by
X = Unrelated variable
X1 represents the proportion of study participants who use the Internet,
X2 is the accessibility of the Internet infrastructure.
Broadband Internet access (X3)
Cost of Access = X4

Adoption: In this context, adoption is the dependent variable and is classified into two. First is adoption on the part of television stations which is the use of television streaming as a means of distributing media content to viewers via the Internet. This was measured by the frequency in which television stations upload their television programmes on the Internet. Secondly, for South-West residents who are Internet users, adoption refers to viewing television programmes on selected television stations via the Internet. This was measured by the rate at which Internet users go to television stations’ websites to watch their favourite programmes.

Influence: This refers to the extent to which Internet penetration determine stakeholders’ adoption of television streaming. This was measured using stakeholders’ access to Internet infrastructure, frequency of television stations’ streaming and frequency of audiences’ adoption of television streaming.

Residents: Anyone residing in the chosen streets in the chosen wards must be at least 18 years old.

Television streaming: This is the process through which a few terrestrial television broadcasters allow their fans to watch their shows online live or on demand. This was measured directly because it is a manifest variable. In the context of this study, the terms “television streaming” and “Internet television” are interchangeable.

Residents of South-West Nigeria, Chief Engineers at NTA Ibadan, Television Continental, and Lagos State Television are considered stakeholders for the purposes of this study.

Internet Infrastructure: This refers to the existing Internet equipment that are in place to enhance Internet access, such as fibre optics cables, Internet routers, wireless spectrum, electricity and computer devices. This was also measured through the channels with which respondents gained access to the Internet, either through wireless telephone technology (3G or 4G on GSM, Wi-Fi) and Wired Telephone technology such as cable Internet connection.

Broadband Penetration: This refers to the availability of high speed Internet access that enables Internet users to view television programmes on television stations websites in real time at a minimum speed of 1.5 Mbit/s”.

Attitude: This is the perception and disposition of respondents towards television streaming. It is a moderating variable in this context and was measured by physical reasons such as lack of interest about television streaming, beliefs, likeness and readiness to adopt television streaming.

Access to the Internet: This means ways through which Internet is made available to the respondents. This was measured using individual or organisational subscription patterns- different types of bouquet data subscription available on selected telecommunication Internet service providers and the frequency of subscription by respondents. This was measured daily, weekly, monthly and by the size of data bundle subscribed to.

Metropolitan: These Local Government areas have urban characteristics and features, such as a large number of small and medium-sized businesses. They are by nature industrialized. The inhabitants of these local government districts are likely to be technologically savvy enough to use computers and access necessary social services.

Non-Metropolitan: These Local Government areas are those that naturally have fewer urban areas and at least two of the following traits: core traditional areas, dilapidated buildings, poor sanitation, insufficient health facilities, slum settlements, high levels of illiteracy, and low socioeconomic activity levels.