Football is without a doubt the most watched and popular sport in Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians are football lovers, and they are also die-hard fans of usually a specific international football club. As that, they barely miss their clubs’ matches.
While fans don’t like missing matches, a lot of them don’t have access to a means of watching them at home, and perhaps it is not that interesting watching football alone. This makes the only option a football viewing center.
Fans go to the football viewing center to watch matches for a fee. So setting up one could make you a lot of money, as some viewing centers make up to 50K on weekends in Nigeria.
However, you need to know the best place to start the business, and how to operate it to see success. That is why we’ve come up with this post to show you exactly how to start a football viewing center business in Nigeria.
In this article, you’ll discover the cost of starting, the materials and equipment needed to run the business, the profitability, and as well as how to maximize your profits, and make even more money.
Are you ready to know all that? Let’s get started then!
Starting a Viewing Center Business in Nigeria
A viewing center business simply means setting up a hall where sports fans come to feed their eyes with the latest matches. In Nigeria, a viewing center is mainly known to show football matches.
The business is very profitable, and it can be started in any part of Nigeria. However, it is quite capital-intensive to start, as the equipment needed is costly. Although you can get started with second-hand equipment.
How Profitable is Football Viewing Center Business in Nigeria?
One common question asked by people looking to venture into the business is – is football viewing center profitable in Nigeria?
Yes, it is! Just that it takes time to start seeing real success, as it is not like other businesses where you start now and make profits right off the bat. It takes months to break even and start making good profits.
The profitability of a viewing center business in Nigeria is really based on some factors including location, and subscription package. If you’re using a cable TV with a low subscription package, you tend to make more money, as the investment will be little.
On the part of the location, the cost of watching matches at viewing centers varies based on location. Lately, the cost of watching a match has increased rapidly. In some parts of the country, viewing centers charge up to N200 per match.
So, the more people watch the more money you’ll need. Although weekends are the best time to make the most money, as there are more matches, viewing stations also make money on weekdays when there are matches. For instance, the Champions league.
See Also: 50 Highly Profitable Daily Income Business Ideas in Nigeria
How Much Does it Cost to Start a Football Viewing Center
One thing that gets people stuck while looking to start a football-viewing business in Nigeria is the capital required. Realistically, you need a reasonable amount of money to set up a viewing center.
The cost of starting a viewing center business in Nigeria can be categorized into two forms. The first form is the upfront investment, and the second is the continuous investment.
Starting with the upfront investment, you need anything from 150,000 naira to 500,000 naira to start a football viewing center in Nigeria. Here, your money will go into setting up a hall and buying the needed equipment, which is usually expensive.
On the other hand, the continuous investment is usually the cost of cable subscriptions, and other expenses like electricity/fuel. Here, you’ll need to find out how much a cable subscription costs to know what your budget will be. However, on average the continuous investment in the business could cost up to 30,000 naira monthly.
Read Also: 20 Smart Ways Make Money Online in Nigeria Right Now
How to Start a Viewing Center Business in Nigeria
1. Do Your Research
The first step in starting a football viewing station in Nigeria is to carry out a market survey. Truly, football is the most loved sport in Nigeria, but you need to identify the type of people that love it and where to start to make the most money.
As part of your market research, you’ll need to find out the type of TV that is best for the business. Also, you need to find out what cable TV shows the most sports (this is usually DSTV), and also make some findings about their subscription packages.
While that’s just a little from the required findings, you can get the best result by meeting someone already in the business and asking them to reveal to you, the in and out of the viewing center business in Nigeria.
2. Get Your Capital
During your research, you should find out about the more accurate startup capital needed to start and operate the business. Knowing that the next thing now is to source the fund.
If you already have a source of funding, you can tap into it to get started. However, if you don’t have up to the required startup cost, you can seek assistance through partnerships and loans from friends and family to get started.
Related: How to Start a Phone Charging Business in Nigeria [Complete Guide]
3. Arrange for a Hall
After arranging for your capital, the first thing you want to invest the money in is a hall. A football viewing center requires a spacious shop to get started.
Here, depending on your area and the amount of money you are able to raise, you can either find a space and build a hall or rent a shop. Also depending on your capital, if you want to build a hall, you can use less expensive materials like planks, and fairly new roofing sheets.
Either renting or building a hall, make sure that the location is ideal for the business. Usually, you want to sit your hall in a busy area. Also, make sure that the location has low crime records especially if your equipment like the television will be in the hall permanently (which usually is the case).
4. Get the Needed Equipment
With your hall now ready, you need to get the required equipment to run the business. Here, you’ll need to budget a reasonable amount of money, as much of the equipment are costly.
Related: How to Start a Recharge Printing Business with Little Capital
Equipment Needed to Set Up a Football Viewing Center
Here are some of the equipment needed to start and operate a viewing center business in Nigeria.
- Televisions
- Decoders
- Cable Wires
- Fans
- Power Generator
- Benches
- TV Shelves
- Extension Sockets
- Match Broadcasting Board
And so on.
5. Complete the Setup
After getting all the necessary equipment needed to start the business, the next thing is to set up your viewing center and get it ready to start operating.
Here, you’ll need to set up the power supply, connect the TVs, arrange the benches in order, place the fans in the appropriate spots, and most importantly, make the cable subscription and make sure that everything is working fine.
See Also: How to Start A Phone Accessories Business in Nigeria
6. Get Started and Get Working
With everything now in place, you can now get started operating the business. As a beginner, at first, you won’t be getting a lot of customers, as you may think. So, you’ll need to come up with and implement a marketing strategy for the business.
Some of the strategies you can use include:
Word of Mouth
The easiest and most effective way of marketing a football viewing center is through word of mouth. This involves letting people (football lovers) know that there’s a new viewing center in town.
To make this strategy work, you’ll need to offer discounts, or extremely cheap prices at the start, to entice a lot of football fans. Also, tell them to encourage their friends to come to watch with them. Here you can let two people watch, but charge the fee for one person.
Broadcasting Matches
Writing the upcoming matches on a board and placing it at a junction is the most popular way of marketing a football show center in Nigeria. You can also include your price to attract customers.
Expanding as You Grow
If you have reasonable capital, you can encompass other businesses such as the gaming center, soft drinks business, recharge card, and phone charging business with the football viewing center business. Usually, football fans seek some of these while watching matches.
You can use it to maximize your profits and make more money in the shortest time with the business.
Conclusion
Tue football showing center business in Nigeria is a very lucrative one to venture into, as it is a good source of weekly income. There are lots of football fans in Nigeria, which means there is no limit to the amount you can make with the business.
If you’re looking to set up one, I believe this post on how to start a viewing center business in Nigeria will serve as a good beginner guide to help you succeed.
Cheers!
