Digital terrestrial television in Ghana: Politics, power and policies

This article advances the scholarship on how politics, power and policies played out in the digital terrestrial television (DTT) transition in Ghana. Through the lens of the Foucauldian concept of power, qualitative content analysis and interviews, this study examines Ghana’s Digital Terrestrial Television Migration Policy (2016) and Revised Draft Broadcasting Bill (2014), focusing on the interactions between politics, power and policies during the switchover period. The study reveals that changes in government and service providers have largely contributed to the delays experienced. Moreover, Ghana’s reliance on pre-existing laws, policies and legal frameworks to regulate DTT technology has impeded the progress that is expected from the migration. While efforts focused on providing access and participation to citizens through the provision of set-top boxes (STBs) and bolstering transmission capabilities to ensure widespread DTT accessibility, scant attention was paid to the content of media programmes, technical complexities of the chosen DTT technology, and sociological class subtleties stemming from satellite transmissions. Although the 2014 Broadcasting Bill, which has remained a bill until today, touched on certain programmes, it lacked the comprehensive framework essential for regulating the digital media landscape. We argue for a proactive regulatory framework that acknowledges emerging technologies to foster a more dynamic and inclusive broadcasting environment that is cost-effective.