Ghana: DTT Channels Will Pay 7,000 $ Per Month Starting 2027

Starting January 2027, Ghana will charge television channels broadcast on its national digital terrestrial television platform a monthly fee of 7,000 dollars. This measure is part of a restructuring of the funding for the broadcasting infrastructure, featuring a graduated mechanism designed to better distribute costs between the state and broadcasters.

This system results from a review of the platform’s financing. Channels using DTT, the equivalent of TNT, will contribute monthly to the operation of the national network, while a graduated tariff support mechanism will accompany the transition during the initial years.

Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technologies and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, presented this development on 7 September in Accra during the government’s accountability series. He explained that a committee tasked with examining the platform’s financial viability had recommended a cost-sharing model combined with a subsidized national tariff.

The fee of 7,000 dollars per channel per month is set to take effect in January 2027. The detailed terms of the graduated mechanism, including criteria allowing certain broadcasters to receive enhanced support or the exact duration of the transitional period, have not yet been made public.

More Stable Funding for Digital Television

For Accra, the challenge is to make the digital terrestrial television network financially sustainable without compromising public access to audiovisual services. The government maintains an obligation for coverage and universal access but aims to reduce the system’s reliance on funding primarily sourced from public resources.

This reform comes as Ghana accelerates the broader modernization of its digital sector. Authorities have launched several parallel projects in telecommunications, including the deployment of 5G, the modernization of rural networks still limited to 2G or 3G, and the revision of the regulatory framework for digital infrastructures.

The government is also overhauling 15 legislative texts related to information and communication technologies. Consultations with stakeholders have already been completed for ten priority projects, including laws on cybersecurity, data harmonization, startups, and the operation of the national communications authority.

For Ghanaian television stations, the next step will be the publication of the implementation rules for the new system before January 2027. Their content will be crucial to assess the actual financial effort required from broadcasters and the extent of state support maintained during the transition.