Broadcasting

Iredia Calls for Law on Digitisation

Published

12 years ago

October 27, 2008

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Dr. Tonnie Iredia, former DG, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), has stated that a law that addresses digital broadcasting is very important in the ditigised arena.

In a paper titled: Transition from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting – Legal and Regulatory Challenges; presented at the recently concluded 2008 Africast Conference and Exhibitions in Abuja, Iredia said digitisation provides more options through multiple channeling and is no doubt, a good policy.

He said: "In virtually every matter, each nation takes into account, the peculiarities of its own environment to formulate a policy that would set the stage and give clear and focused direction to the successful implementation of that matter. In the case of digitisation, what we have is a complex process with socio-economic implications that go beyond the obvious technical dimension."

"Issues such as an exact switchover date as well as other inevitable background matters must first of all be appropriately settled. The policy must cover the entire ground which must take into consideration that new demands are thrown up by new technologies. It is thus necessary to evolve a policy frame-work that would in the case of digital broadcasting specifically address the phenomenon because how a policy is formulated has a major effect on its outcome."

He said: "The nature of digitisation which is premised on advanced technology compels a proper legal and regulatory handling. What this implies is that even where laws have been in place, the new demands arising from the development of new technologies require legislation change. These include but are not limited to spectrum use, licencing, switching from analogue to digital, replacing analogue receivers, transmitters or upgrading the analogue infrastructure."

According to him, there is the need to institute a well articulated statute or an amendment to the relevant existing law to meet current realities; it has been done in the U.S, where a new law – the ‘Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005’ was enacted for that purpose, and same is in the offing in Tanzania and Kenya.

Iredia identified possible challenges in the digitized arena to include such physical constraints as obsolete facilities and poor infrastructural base while decrying the poor maintenance culture in this part of the world.

"In Nigeria for example, the emphasis has been on how to ‘replace’ and not how to ‘repair.’ There has also been the unfortunate trend whereby technical facilities are imported without the requisite spares procured along with them."

He stated that human capacity development is also a challenge in Nigeria because it has not been given the attention it deserves, adding that if the situation is not arrested, the country would be managing a skilled-operation run by unskilled personnel; and with little or no emphasis on the rules of the business, the industry and indeed, the regulator will be overcome by a high degree of unethical practices in the business.

"Has the nation budgeted for digitisation? How much has been budgeted for digitisation? If yes, who has it been allocated to? How well funded is the NBC for the business of regulation?" the broadcast guru mused.

"We cannot over emphasize the fact that digital broadcasting is capital intensive and requires the active support of Government. This explains why the British Government decided to bear the entire cost of the first roll out of the implementation of the switch-over from analogue to digital in the United Kingdom in October 2007."

Iredia recommended that Government should carry out some test transmissions to have a first-hand experience of digital broadcasting before throwing it out to the public while also calling for an aggressive public enlightenment to make people aware of what it entails.

He concluded by saying that Government should ensure that the laws are clear and use the societal institutions set up for the business to govern that sector in all respect; warning: "All these efforts should not be subjected to bureaucracy so that they do not fail."

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Broadcasting

TStv Lures Subscribers with N5 Daily Subscription

Published

7 hours ago

September 30, 2020

Comms Week

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TStv, a local satellite television network, has said that it will on October 1, roll out pay-per-view services in 18 states to mark the country’s independence on October 1.

TStv Lures Subscribers with N5 Daily Subscription

Dr. Bright Echefu, managing director of the company, who said this on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the company had surmounted the challenges it encountered after its launch in October 2017 and was better positioned to deliver quality services to Nigerians.

He said that the pay-per-view entails the minimum of N3 and maximum of N5 daily subscription per channel.

According to him, the company since 2017 went back to the drawing board to address all lapses to give Nigerians value for money and that while services will begin in 18 states on October 1, the remaining states will enjoy services from October 10.

“While we were off the radar, we properly studied the business and we have created a model to fit every Nigerian’s desire. We have created the pay as you view model where Nigerians will pay only for the channels they want to watch.

“Nigerians will be able to choose their bouquet by themselves, by choosing only those channels that they want to watch and pay for with a minimal amount per pay; 108 channels are available on our platform and more than 80 of them are High Definition (HD),” he said.

Echefu also said that as a gift to Nigerians for their steadfastness and understanding, the company had made the Grande Sports Extra Channel and some other local channels free to all Nigerians for one year.

While saying that Nigerians would be able to enjoy the ability to pause the decoder when not in use for a long period, he however, said that to safeguard against abuse, genuine reasons must be given for pausing the services.

He also commended the Federal Government for giving the company the desired support to start again after the challenges that led to its failure when it was first launched.

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Broadcasting

UBA Launches ‘RED Radio’, New Online Entertainment Platform

Published

4 days ago

September 26, 2020

Comms Week

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United Bank for Africa, (UBA Plc), Pan- African financial institution, has continued to lead in innovation with the launch of its dynamic and creative Online Radio channel – RED Radio.

RED Radio, powered by UBA is a lifestyle web platform that has been set up to inform, educate, entertain and to bring to the fore, the best of Africa.

Much like its sister platform, REDTV, RED Radio is expected to showcase the best in lifestyle, entertainment, music, news, comedy and fashion.

Speaking on the launch of RED Radio, Tony O. Elumelu, group chairman of UBA, applauded the creative initiative, emphasising that UBA is a financial institution always ready to support creativity and entrepreneurship. The 2020 Time 100 most influential person in the world who has committed USD100 million to empowering young entrepreneurs across Africa said about RED Radio, “Creativity and innovation are a powerful combination and every detail in an art piece is important and meaningful. This applies to growing businesses and budding entrepreneurs. You will encounter challenges, like I did, but each experience is a lesson that brings you closer to your goal. That is the beauty of creativity.”

Continuing, Elumelu remarked, “There are many ways to make something beautiful, to make a sound interesting or to bring a story to life. You can define your expression, and today, as UBA’s RED Radio launches, I wish Bola Atta and her enterprising team many successes through this beautiful medium of expression.”

In appreciation of the support of UBA Group Chairman for the exciting creative initiative, Bola Atta, UBA’s group head, Corporate Communications, said ‘just like, REDTV which is Africa’s leading online entertainment network, RED Radio is positioned to fast become the foremost online radio platform in Africa’.

Also expressing his delight, UBA’s Brand Ambassador and star boy, Wizkid, said, “I am never too busy for my UBA family as he granted an exclusive interview on one of the station’s flagship shows ‘On the Street’ where he spoke extensively about his upcoming album and what his fans should expect from him in the coming weeks.

RED Radio promises to bring rich and engaging content that will keep its audience coming back constantly for vibrant and robust entertainment. Listeners can tune in to www.itsredio.com 24/7.

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Broadcasting

Battle of The Reds As Liverpool and Arsenal face off at Anfield

Published

4 days ago

September 26, 2020

Ugo Onwuaso

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It’s another weekend of football and football fans can look forward to the best football action from the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A on SuperSport.

In the Premier League this weekend, Liverpool and Arsenal will face off at Anfield on the evening of Monday 28 September, at 8:15pm on SS Premier League. The Reds and the Gunners are set for an explosive encounter which will feature prolific African goal scorers such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Liverpool will be looking for revenge against Arsenal, given that the teams’ last two meetings have both gone the way of the London side: 2-1 in a Premier League clash in mid-July and a penalty shootout triumph in the Community Shield late last month.

Other picks for Premier League this weekend are Crystal Palace vs Everton at 3pm, Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester Unitedat 12:30pm, West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea at 5:30pm and Burnley vs Southampton at 8pm all on Saturday 26 September, live on SS Premier League. On Sunday 27 September EPL fans will watch Sheffield United vs Leeds United at 12pm, Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United at 2pm, Manchester City vsLeicester City at 4:30pm and West Ham United vsWolverhampton Wanderers at 7pm all live on SS Premier League.

The top clash for this La Liga round sees champions Real Madrid head to Estadio Benito Villamarin to face Real Betis. This will air on Saturday 26 September at 8pm on SS La Liga and SS GOtv La Liga. Los Verdiblancos have been a bogey team for the capital side in recent times, notably defeating Zinedine Zidane’s side 2-1 in their last meeting in March (prior to the season suspension) to extend their unbeaten run in the rivalry to three matches. SuperSport is the only place to get English commentary from the legendary La Liga.

Barcelona will face Villarreal at 8pm on 27 September while Sevilla will face Cadiz on Monday 18 September at 8pm both on SS La Liga and SS GOtv La Liga. Barcelona and Cadiz are back after being given the first two match days off to have extra recuperation time from last season’s UEFA Champions League and Europa League campaigns.

More on La Liga this weekend will see Eibar meet Athletic Bilbao at 8pm on Friday 25 September. While on Saturday at 12 pm Deportivo Alaves will clash with Getafe, Valencia will also clash with Huesca at 3pm and Elche will face Real Sociedad at 5:30pm all airing live on SS La Liga and SS GOtv La Liga. Sunday 27 September SS La Liga and SS GOtv La Liga will air Osasuna vs Levante live at 11am, Athletico Madrid vs Granada at 3pm and Real Valladolid vs Celta Vigo at 5:30pm.

The headline match from Serie A for this round is the Sunday night clash of Roma and Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico in the ‘Eternal City’. This will air on SS Football and SS GOtv Select 1 at 7:45pm. Other matches on Sunday 27 September includes,Spezia vs Sassuolo at 11:30am, Napoli vs Genoa at 2pm and Crotone vs Milan at 5pm also live on SS Football and GOtv Select 1.

Elsewhere, Internazionale will have their first match of the season when they host Fiorentina at the San Siro in the late kick-off on Saturday evening at 7:45pm. Also on Saturday 26 September at 2pm, Torino will face Atalanta while at 5pm, Cagliari will face Lazio. Both Live on SS Football and SS GOtv Football. The weekend will conclude for Serie A with Bolongna vs Parma on Monday 28 September at 7:45pm live on SSFootball, SS GOtv Football and SS GOtv Select 1.

SuperSport promises the best of football this season as viewers on DStv and GOtv can see all their favourite stars from the African continent dominating in leagues across Europe.

Don’t miss the 2020-21 football season on SuperSport on DStv and GOtv. For the full football experience, reconnect or subscribe to any of these packages; DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Confam & Yanga and GOtv Max & Jolli for selected matches.

Also, visit www.dstvafrica.com and www.gotvafrica.com and download the MyDStv app or MyGOtv app from the iOS and Android store to upgrade, reconnect or select the Auto-Renewal option to stay connected to quality football entertainment without interruptions and for other self-service options. And while you’re on the move, you can stream matches on DStv Now.

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