FG Considers Grants To Broadcast Operators

The Nigerian
Broadcasting Commission (NBC), said that the Federal Government was considering setting up a fund to assist broadcasters due to the high cost of broadcast equipment.
The Director-General of the commission, Nr Emeka Mba, made this known in Abuja while speaking on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum.
“Government is considering a fund that will assist broadcasters. Digitisation all over the world is a hugely expensive endeavour; in many countries, billions of dollars have been spent and this involves changing the entire ecosystem of broadcasting.
“We are going to have a new ecosystem, new broadcasting equipment, and new delivery mechanism.
“The stations will also have to upgrade their studio equipment and have a digital link from the stations to the transmitter. It involves a lot of cost. “
The director-general explained that any investment made in bringing about a more virile, more responsible, and more progressive broadcast industry would be beneficial by providing a more socially cohesive and economically buoyant country.
Mba urged broadcast operators to abide by the ethics of the profession in discharging their duties.
He commended some of the operators that had already digitised their operations, saying that the June 2015 deadline for the digitisation of the nation’s broadcast industry had not been changed.