The growth of the Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television industry globally is well documented. Nigeria is certainly one of the countries where such growth is evident and there are at least four major satellite TV service providers competing in the Nigerian market. In addition, there are a small but growing number of satellite TV enthusiasts exploring the opportunities available to watch satellite TV broadcasts without subscription. In general, there is a widespread misconception among the general population that satellite television is automatically equivalent to subscription television, ignoring the fact that there is a considerable amount of free broadcast (FTA) available without subscription. However, it should also be mentioned that some of the enthusiasts deviate beyond simple FTA television into areas that border on illegality, depending on the circumstances, with the use of some satellite receivers with modified software to view encrypted material without subscription.
The issue of legality regarding the transmission and reception of satellite television in Nigeria is topical in light of the litigation before the Nigerian courts involving some of the DTH operators in the market and various other parties, especially some providers. cable television services. Usually the DTH operator has paid a lot of money for premium content, an excellent example is English Premier League (EPL) football and wants to protect its revenue stream by avoiding or preventing its dilution as a result of the activities of those who They seek to broadcast the same content regardless of DTH. This is more especially when the DTH operator has paid for exclusive rights. Broadcasting, regardless of the DTH operator, is typically done by some cable service operators, who often source the content via satellite and relay it over cable to their own customers for a fee. In this sense, the main legal question is whether those who distribute such content independently of the DTH operator have the legal right to do so. The ongoing litigation in Nigerian courts between Hi-Media (HiTV operators) and CTL (a cable service provider) typifies the scenario described here.
Obviously, when encrypted satellite signals are obtained from the facilities of a DTH operator with exclusive domestic rights and are redistributed for a national fee without the authorization or consent of the DTH operator, the retransmission is most likely to be a Illegal violation of the operator’s intellectual property rights. DTH operator. However, Nigerian law is not entirely clear on the issue of the legality of the retransmission of satellite signals within Nigeria when the signals are transmitted from outside the receiving country, by an operator that does not have national transmission rights and, Especially when the FTA signals are transmitted without encryption. This scenario is also unfolding in Nigeria with recent complaints made to the Nigerian authorities by some DTH operators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially Orbit Showtime about the retransmission of their signals by some cable service operators in Nigeria. In fact, the issue of the retransmission of FTA signals is a constant subject of controversy and legal uncertainty in other countries, especially in Europe. For example, there was a recent crackdown in Spain against “illegal” stations. However, the crackdown appears to have focused on operators relaying encrypted content without authorization, while it appears that operators relaying FTA signals have largely been able to continue their operations as long as they are legally compliant in other respects. such as basic licensing requirements and tax responsibilities.
With regard to the situation in Nigeria, the issues ultimately revolve around questions of interpretation and application of Nigerian customary law and a number of Nigerian laws, including the Copyright Act as amended. Obviously, it is highly likely that the courts will rule that the holder of the national rights of a particular content (exclusive rights in the case of EPL football) can challenge and restrict any retransmission of their own signals without their content or authorization. It is different if the broadcast signal for that same content was obtained from a different source. for example, a foreign EPL soccer broadcaster instead of the national rights holder. However, in such a case, the national rights holder with exclusive rights can successfully rely on the exclusivity of his own rights, regardless of the source from which the broadcaster obtained the signal. Potentially, the foreign rights holder can also claim for the violation of their own intellectual property rights.
The less clear legal situation concerns the rebroadcasting in Nigeria of FTA content transmitted to or from a foreign country. From a broader perspective, there have always been at least two views of this situation. First, there is a view that as long as the domestic broadcast has a proper broadcast license and otherwise complies with other relevant laws, the broadcast of TLC content is acceptable. Some argue that this explains the activities of some operators in some European countries, such as Spain, Switzerland, etc., where the retransmission of signals originating in another country, especially the UK, is a well-known phenomenon. The second point of view is that the retransmission of TLC content without the authorization of the (foreign) origin at least must always be illegal if it isn’t already. Of course, broadcasting involves taking advantage of the author’s intellectual property, but other considerations are also taken into account, such as that the author may be geographically restricted in terms of their broadcasting rights and that the ads may be targeted to a particular country.
It is believed that the ongoing litigation before the Nigerian courts does not directly touch on the issue of rebroadcasting in Nigeria of FTA signals originating abroad. The Nigerian courts are expected to provide clarification on the matter as soon as possible.