ABSTRACT
The Internet has revolutionised the
different sectors of the society, including the media industry. One of the innovative
applications of the Internet to the media industry is television streaming- a
process through which television stations upload daily programmes to their
online platforms thereby enabling audiences to watch television programmes at
their convenience. Without access to affordable Internet Service Providers’
services, data packages and Internet literacy skills, widespread adoption of
television streaming may be a daunting task. The paucity of empirical research
on streaming has undermined adequate planning in this sector. This study
examined the extent to which Internet penetration has promoted the adoption of
television streaming among stakeholders inSouth-West Nigeria.
Survey research design was adopted
for this study. The population comprised 27,722,432 residents and 22
televisionstations in South-West Nigeria. Three states were selected using
simple random sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was used to
stratify the local governments into metropolitan and non-metropolitan. Subsequently,
four local governments were selected randomly from the metropolitan local
governments. Three television stations were selected randomly after being
stratified into privately, state and federally owned. The chief engineers were
purposively chosen for interview because of their involvement with streaming
technologies. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill formula was used to arrive at the
sample size of 1,613 respondents drawn from twelve wards. Validated
questionnaire which was the major instrument complimented by interview guide
were adopted for data collection. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient values of the
constructs were Internet penetration (0.782),
television streaming (0.830), attitude (0.811), computer literacy (0.769),
perceived usefulness (0.805) and ease of use (0.728), while 0.881 was obtained
for the total scale. A total of 1,613 copies of questionnaire were
administered, with a response rate of 95%. The data collected were analysed
using inferential statistics: multiple and simple linear regression.Interview
responses obtained were analysed under themes of the discourse.
Findings indicated that Internet
penetration significantly influenced adoption of television streaming(R2=0.120,
p<0.05). Also, Internet penetration when moderated by attitude, significantly
influencedrespondents’ adoption of television streaming(R2=0.193,
p<0.05). Computer literacy skills, perceived usefulness and ease of use had
individual significant influence on adoption of television streaming (R2=0.017,
0.132, 0.098 p<0.05). Respondents identified high cost of Internet data
(50.9%) as a factor affecting adoption of television streaming.
The study concluded that Internet
penetration influenced the adoption of television streaming. The study
established that apart from Internet penetration, factors of perceived
usefulness, ease of use and computer literacy would influence the adoption of
television streaming. However, while there is increased Internet penetration,
high cost of Internet data plans remains a challenge. The study recommended
that the government and Internet Service Providers work towards achieving
affordable Internet plans across the country.In addition,the federal government
should reduce Internet licensing fee to encourage new investors and increase
competition.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Advancement in computer technology
has led to many innovations especially with the advent of the Internet. The proliferation of the Internet is changing
different sectors in the world, the media industry inclusive. One of the
innovative applications of the Internet to the media industry is television
streaming- the practice by which television stations provide media contents
online. Technological convergence as defined by Okoro (2006) is the “the
continuous development in media technology aimed at bringing about a blend in
technologies in the process of message delivery” p. 4. The implication of this
is the meeting point between computer technologies and television leading to
the formation of television streaming. Television streaming as described by Gerbarg
and Noam (2003) is the “quint essential digital convergence medium putting together television, telecommunications, the
Internet, computer applications” p. xxi.
Before the advent of the Internet,
television stations were limited by geographical boundaries and by signal
strength of airwaves. For television viewers also, the feedback mechanism was
either limited or delayed because not all the audiences could give their views
or opinions about happenings around them. In addition, limited television
programmes were available for television audiences, at a stipulated time. Thus,
television audiences are often saddled with limited choice of television
programmes and there was no alternative means of watching a missed programme.
However, one major benefit of television streaming to media operators is that
it creates a forum to a wider reach of audience because they are not restrained
by on-air signal or coverage. As such, television stations’ contents that are
streamed online can be viewed across geographical boundaries. To the audience,
they also stand to benefit from watching television programmes on the Internet.
The innovation of television streaming aid the audiences to watch their
favourite television programmes regardless of wherever they are in the world as
long as they are connected to the Internet. 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)
andLivingstone(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.
Vliet (2002) defined Internet as a
global network through which millions of users exchange data with series of
networks associated with an organisation. The Internet, as suggested by Pratama
and Al-Shaikh (2012) is also the “symbol of technological era” p. 2. Popularity
of the Internet in the 21st century has not only brought innovations
to the media industry but to every sector of the economy. The Internet
technology can be said to have changed the face of broadcasting with the
conception of radio and television streaming. In a bid to tap into this
technological era of Internet and to follow audience shift to the new media,
broadcasters began to stream their contents online. 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 connectivityin 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).
The Internet Society, Nigeria
Chapter (2016) and West (2015) also disclosed that some of the factors
affecting Internet use in Nigeria are lack of technical know-how, cost of
acquiring computer devices, high cost of Internet subscription and negative
disposition arising from security related issues such as cybercrimes when using
the Internet. Income level as argued by West (2015) are barriers in the use of
the Internet and except low level income earners have access to free products
and cheap devices, they may not have the privilege of accessing the Internet.
On the other hand, expensive devices and
high data cost can militate against Internet penetration among high income
earners and where data subscription are available, it may not be used for
television streaming as a result of the high amount of data needed to watch
live programmes on the Internet.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
With rising globalisation, stiff
competition and technological development, the television industry is not new
to changes; it is witnessing transition from analogue to digital and more recently
it is undergoing the transformation from delivery of contents on-air to
delivery via the Internet. The growth of the Internet over the years paved way
for the innovation of delivering television content via the Internet.
Statistics published by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), (2016) showed
that from year 2000 when Internet began to gain ground in Nigeria, Internet
users have increased from 78,740 to 93,524,398 in August 2016. This increase
has also placed Nigeria as the largest Internet user in Africa, (Abikoye &
Salihu, 2016). This is evident as out 182,202, 000 of Nigerian residents, about
half (52.1%) of the population have access to the Internet as at August 2016.With
the expansion of Internet access however, there are inadequate Internet
infrastructure to sustain the continual growth of Internet access thereby
leading to traffic congestion on existing Internet infrastructure; a negative
implication for Internet broadband penetration. Internet broadband penetration
as at October 2016 according to Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, it is projected that
Internet broadband penetration would be at 30 percent by 2018. 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.
In addition, National Broadband
Plan (2013) acknowledged that the high cost of Internet access remains a
fundamental reason why Internet is not available in every home. One of the
reasons given for the high cost of Internet data is a result of monopoly in the
telecommunication industry and regulation of data prices by NCC. But
deregulation of the data prices by the NCC in October 2015 and removal of data
floor price led telecommunication industries to set their own data prices. This
has resulted in the reduction of data subscription cost. Airtel Nigeria was the
first to reduce its cost of data subscription in May 2016, subsequently, other
competitors followed suit. 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.
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 isabout 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 questions demand answers
because television viewing is shifting from the confines of the sitting room to
anywhere as long as the viewer is connected to the Internet (ITU, 2015).While
developing countries are still striving to adopt television streaming which is
Internet driven, non- ubiquitous broadband Internet connectivity will negatively
impact smooth access to television streaming of programmes which may further
discourage Internet users from watching television programmes on television
stations’ websites. Based on the above, the researcher studied the influence of
Internet penetration on the adoption of Television Streaming among stakeholders
in selected states in South-West Nigeria.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The general objective of this study
was to find out the influence of Internet penetration on the adoption of
television streaming among stakeholders in South-West Nigeria. The specific
objectives are to:
1. determine
the level of Internet penetration in South-West Nigeria;
2. determine
the extent to which residents in South-West Nigeria watch television programmes
on television stations’ websites;
3. examine
the extent to which computer literacy skills promote residents’ adoption of
television streaming in South-West Nigeria;
4. determine
the extent to which perceived ease of use facilitates residents’ adoption of
television streaming in South-West Nigeria;
5. examine
the extent to which Ease of use promote residents’ adoption of television
streaming in South-West Nigeria;
6. explore
the challenges militating against residents’ adoption of television streaming
in South-West Nigeria;
7. establish
the extent to which selected television stations in South-West Nigeria have the
appropriate technology to develop live streams;
8. ascertain
the frequency of uploads of daily live or on-demand programmes on the Internet
by selected television stations in South-West Nigeria;
9. find
out challenges militating against television stations’ adoption of television
streaming in South-West Nigeria;
10. find
out the significant difference in adoption of television streaming by
demographic characteristics across residents in South-West Nigeria
1.4 Research Questions
1. What
is the level of Internet penetration in South-West Nigeria?
2. What
is the extent to which residents in South-West Nigeria watch
televisionprogrammes on television stations’ websites?
3. What
is the extent to which computer literacy skills promote residents’ adoption of
television streaming in South-West Nigeria?
4. To
what extent does perceived ease of use facilitates residents’ adoption of
television streaming in South-West Nigeria?
5. How
does Ease of use promote residents’ adoption of television streaming in
South-West Nigeria?
6. What
are the challenges militating against residents’ adoption of television
streaming in South-West Nigeria?
7. To
what extent do selected television stations in South-West Nigeria have the
appropriate technology to develop live streams?
8. How
often do selected television stations in South-West Nigeria upload their daily
programmes live on the Internet?
9. What
are the challenges militating against television stations’ adoption of
television streaming in South-West Nigeria?
10. What
is the significant difference in adoption of television streaming by
demographic characteristics across residents in South-West Nigeria?
1.5 Hypotheses
H1 Availability
of Internet Infrastructure significantly influences residents’ adoption of
television streaming
H2 Access
to the Internet significantly influences the adoption of television streaming
by residents in South-West Nigeria
H3 Broadband
Penetration significantly influences adoption of television streaming among residents
in South-West Nigeria
H4 The
cost of data subscription significantly influences residents’ adoption of
television streaming
H5 Internet
Penetration when moderated by attitude of residents in South-West Nigeria
significantly influences their adoption of television streaming
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 examined the extent to
which Internet Penetration influenced the adoption of television streaming
among stakeholders in South-West Nigeria. Television in Nigeria is recently
gaining ground and as such, few studies have measured the extent to which
Internet Penetration influences the adoption of television streaming. As such,
the findings of this study would therefore be of immense benefits to the
researcher as it would enable the researcher to expand the frontier of research
in the field of television streaming. It would also provide empirical data for
other researchers upon which further studies on New Media and Information and
Communication Technologies in Nigeria could be conducted. Data from this study
would also enrich the data bank of International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
regarding Internet penetration in South-West Nigeria. This would provide ITU with
statistical figures that could be used in ascertaining 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.
It would also help television
stations to know the access and adoption pattern of television streaming among
Internet users. It would also help television stations to know how study
participants view the concept of television streaming. Findings would also help
television stations to discover the challenges that Internet users encounters
while trying to view streamed contents on their websites and to improve on
those areas in order to pave way for a good streaming experience.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study on influence of Internet
Penetration on the adoption of Television Streaming among stakeholders had
South-West Nigeria as its focus. The stakeholders involved in this study were
residents aged 18 and above and television stations in South-West. Ages 18
years and above were considered for this study because it is the standard age
for adulthood and independence to a large extent. In addition, in the cultural
context of Nigeria, children below the age of 18 years are largely dependent
and under control mechanisms that are put in place by parents and guardians to
regulate what they watch.
Out of the six states in South-West
Nigeria, two stateswere 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 fibre optics cables that supply West Africa Aggregation of
broadband infrastructure is in the West Coast of Nigeria. This suggests that
the West have access to infrastructure than other geographical zones and thus
Internet access is expected to be more prominent in the West.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
Internet
Penetration: Internet Penetration refers to the
spread of Internet. It means the extent
to which study participants in South-West Nigeria have access to the Internet.
Internet Penetration however is a latent variable as it is made up of several
other variables and as such cannot be measured directly. As such, Internet Penetration which is the
independent variable was determined by
X= Independent variable
X1= the number of study
participants that access the Internet,
X2= availability of
Internet Infrastructure
X3= Broadband Internet
connection
X4= Cost of Access
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:
Thisrefers 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:
These are people from 18 years and above living in the selected streets across
the selected wards.
Television
Streaming: This involves the ability of selected
terrestrial television stations to make their programmes available live or on
demand online to their viewers. This is a manifest variable and as such was
measured directly. Television streaming also refers to Internet television and
used interchangeably in the context of this study.
Stakeholders:
Stakeholders for the purpose of this study are residents in South-West Nigeria,
Chief Engineers in NTA Ibadan, Television Continental and Lagos State
Television.
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 are Local Government areas that are urban in nature with characteristics
and features of urban settlement such as high concentration of small and medium
scale enterprises. They are industrialised by nature. The residents of these
local government areas have the likelihood to possess the technological
know-how to operate computer devices and have essential social services.
Non
Metropolitan: These are Local Government areas
that by nature have less urban settlements and have two or more of the
following characteristics: core traditional areas, dilapidated buildings, poor
sanitation, inadequate health facilities, slum settlements, high level of
illiteracy and low level of socio-economic activities.
Extent
to which Residents watch television streaming:
This implies the frequency and exposure of residents in South-West Nigeria to
traditional television contents online. This was measured by the number of
hours spent in watching television on the Internet, the degree to which a
respondent accepts the statement made and frequency of watching, using very
large extent, large extent and low extent. To a very large extent means that
respondents heavily support the assertion under query, to a large extent means
respondents moderately accept the statement under query and low extent implies
respondents, to a low or fair degree, concede to the questionnaire item.
Factors
influencing adoption: For this study,
factors imply other variables aside from Internet penetration than can
influence adoption of television streaming. This was measured by computer
literacy skills, Ease of use and perceived usefulness.
Computer
Literacy: It is the extent to which study
participants have the necessary computer skills required to operate a computer
gadget and watch television programmes on television stations’ websites. This
was measured through respondents’ understanding and knowledge of computer
gadgets.
Ease
of Use: This refers to the manner in which
respondents can easily watch television programmes on the Internet without
putting in much effort and with no difficulty. This was measured through a
television stations’ website outlook and the simplicity or difficulty required
to access television programmes on television stations’ websites.
Perceived
Usefulness: It means respondents’ need,
control and relative advantage of television online contents. It was measured
through watching television online as a result of missing favourite programmes,
having a choice of what to watch and enhanced feedback.
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