Tag Archives: Armstrong Idachaba

NBC appoints new director general

The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has appointed Balarabe Shehu Ilelah as the new director general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

Balarabe Shehu Ilelah

The move follows the recent dismissal of the former director general of the NBC, Armstrong Idachaba, by the president. Idachaba was appointed on an acting capacity following the suspension of Modibbo Kawu from the position for alleged financial impropriety in February 2020.

This new appointment was announced by the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Instagram.

Shehu Ilelah is a graduate of Bayero University, Kano and a veteran broadcaster who worked with NTA Bauchi before leaving Nigeria for the then Soviet Union as a journalist. His appointment as NBC director general is for a tenure of five years.

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NBC tightens rules on sporting rights

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has instructed broadcasters and licensees to refrain from acquiring foreign sporting rights that will exclude other broadcasters in Nigeria from sub-licensing them.

Armstrong Idachaba

Armstrong Idachaba, acting director general of the NBC, told a press briefing in Abuja that the decision to amend the NBC code is key to repositioning the broadcasting industry and making it more responsive, to protect it from monopolistic and anti-competitive behavior and stimulate advertising revenue, and by extension, the local creative industry.

Acknowledging the mixed reaction to the release of the amendment, he said the commission would take this into consideration.

“Only recently, on March 27, I announced the release of some amendments to the Nigeria Broadcasting Code (6th Edition). The commission wishes to reiterate the fact that the objectives of the amendments are in our national best interest,” he said.

“We currently have a highly rated and hugely talented creative industry in Nigeria, but the fact remains that content producers are unable to harness the benefits of their creative endowment due largely to monopolistic restrictions and anti-competitive behaviour. There is no doubt that the Nigerian broadcasting industry is facing a series of challenges. These include inability for the broadcasters to generate required funds from advertising and programming.

“Local producers of content are no longer able to create content for television. This has led to an influx of foreign production companies, some of them unregistered and unlicensed by the Nigerian government. These companies have taken over the local content production space and, by extension, the advertising and broadcasting space, relegating local entrepreneurs to oblivion. The commission believes in the broadcasting industry but this must be done with a noble philosophy to promote our own national dreams and vision.’’

Commending all those who have contributed to the debate about the amendment, he added that the change to the code will improve investment in Nigeria and benefit media entrepreneurs and audiences.

“We know that broadcasting is dynamic; so are the challenges to regulation. The commission has noted all the concerns and observations, especially on 9.0.1 and 6.2.8. Section 6.2.8, which clearly points that, ‘Exclusivity shall not be allowed for sporting rights in the Nigerian territory and in furtherance thereof, no broadcaster or licensee shall license or acquire foreign sporting rights in such a manner as to exclude persons, broadcasters or licensees in Nigeria from sub-licensing the same.’

“Similarly, on 9.0.1, the point is that a broadcaster or licensee shall immediately after the coming into force of this amendment be prohibited from effecting informal agreements, written and oral agreements, explicit or implicit understandings or implementing concerted practices either exclusively or between market players that have as their object, intent, effect or purpose the restriction of competition, abuse of a dominant position or of substantial market power or create barriers to entry in the broadcast media industry in Nigeria.”

Armstrong Idachaba

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NBC warns over ‘indecent’ content

Acting National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) director general Armstrong Idachaba has warned broadcasters against airing content it deems “vulgar, indecent and obscene.”

Armstrong Idachaba

After recently monitoring the transmission of satellite signals, the NBC discovered that some channels were violating its guidelines.

Idachaba said: “It has, therefore, become expedient to remind all broadcasters or operators and users of satellite broadcasting in Nigeria of the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and the act, which are the grand laws for broadcasting in Nigeria.

“We wish to request all pay TV channels to observe the rules on decency of broadcast content. Many pay TV channels carry very vulgar, indecent and obscene content. Broadcasters must take cognisance of the code provisions on watershed.

“The commission warns that unclassified, vulgar and obscene musical videos will not be tolerated, and broadcasters must ensure that musical works are suitable for broadcasting before putting them on air.”

Idachaba added that he appreciated broadcasters’ efforts to provide in-depth coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, urging them to continue to offer efficient, professional and comprehensive services based on national objectives and aspirations.

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Flipping the switch

Nigeria’s digital switchover (DSO) was the key topic on the first day of broadcaster FreeTV’s three-day online digital series event. Priscillia Alao reports.

Olumade Adesemowo

The event kicked off on Wednesday with Inview Technology CEO Olumade Adesemowo anchoring a panel focusing on DSO and the future of Nigerian content. Speaking on the panel were Professor Armstrong Idachaba, acting director general of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC); stand-up comedian and actor Ali Baba; Film Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) chairman Emeka Aduah; and 9Mobile marketing director Olayiwola Onafowokan.

Idachaba provided a report on the current status of the DSO, detailing some of the challenges of transitioning more than 30 million Nigerian households from analogue to digital and looking to the future.

“The DSO project is important to the future of the media industry in Nigeria,” he said, explaining that as well as improving picture and sound quality, the switch will result in more channels for creative-minded people to realise their potential.

So far, DSO has been rolled out in Jos, Abuja, Kaduna, Ilorin and Osogbo, as well as Enugu, where the switch has been carried out but not completed across the entire state.

Referring to his fellow panellist, Idachaba continued: “With the bank of content Ali Baba has been able to produce over the years, I wonder why he is not running comedy channels. This is the time to engage content producers, and regulators are ready to create that platform for them.

“Some of us don’t fully understand the potential inherent in the digital transition process and we also don’t realise that the entire value chain will be driven by the content we produce. As regulators, it is time to create the right regulatory framework that will allow creatives to have an entry point.”

Idachaba added that Inview’s partnership with the Bank of Industry meant there would be support for companies involved in licence acquisition and the production and distribution of content.

“At the NBC, there is a renewed commitment to delivering on the DSO project. The vehicles for delivering content are the signal distributors who are willing to commit their resources to the roll-out,” he said.

Armstrong Idachaba

The next places to get the switch will be Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, Idachaba said, noting that the NBC was also working on partnerships with other corporations.

“We are confident that once the lockdown is off, we will regenerate activities around the DSO,” he added, referring to the restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Ali Baba discussed the impact the DSO could have on the entertainment industry when fully implemented.

While there has long been a lack of platforms for comedians in Nigeria, Ali Baba predicted that the DSO will lead to a proliferation of opportunities. “DSO is a welcome idea because there are lots of talents who just need the right platform,” he said.

“We are ready and, although platforms had been denied us because we had to pay for airtime, we now have free-to-air options.”

Aduah, whose association has been involved in Nollywood production and distribution since the days of VHS and through to VCD and DVD, outlined what the DSO would mean for the FVPMAN.

“The challenges holding down the distribution of VCD in the market is in the area of piracy, which has not been dealt with. But we are doing our best to curb it to allow VCD/DVD to sell. Everything has transitioned into digital and it is in our best interests to ensure the DSO comes to [fruition].

“When [DSO is completed] in Kano and Lagos, we are looking at the NBC to facilitate the launch so content owners can smile to the bank, because DVD is not selling as expected. This is a digital era – with the DSO, we will be able to make more sales through the use of dongles. We hope we will be able to witness the switchover so we can continue in business.”

Aduah said the NBC had work to do in order to address challenges in the distribution of content, noting: “TV stations play more foreign content than local content.”

Elsewhere during the discussion, 9Mobile’s Onafowokan talked about the importance of TV firms working with telecoms companies in the digital landscape. “Digital TV provides new features for viewers that analogue does not have, but all these depend on collaborations with telecom industries,” he said.

As part of aims to achieve the NCC’s target of 70% broadband penetration in Nigeria by 2025, around N265bn has been invested in infrastructure, with the government investing N65bn and the private sector contributing the rest, Onafowokan said.

“At 9Mobile, we give access, flexibility and mobility to clients so they can enjoy services the OTT players bring on board,” he continued. “We are empowering content owners by ensuring content is fresh and relevant; we have not ramped up our involvement in terms of collaborating with content owners and production houses, but we are providing infrastructure to ensure content is consumed.”

The session concluded with Idachaba highlighting more positives of the DSO. “We are beginning to explore the reality of tech convergence, and the key functionality of the set-top boxes will be affordable, simple, highly functional internet access for more engagements and an additional source for content dissemination,” he said.

Idachaba added that the DSO would create more opportunities for creative people thanks to the set-top boxes featuring technology that will monitor what is being watched, making it easier to identify programming priorities, fill in gaps involving the structure of content production and facilitate inter-creative exchange.

“We are hoping the Nigerian creative industry will cash in on the advantages of the ecosystem, because we believe the future of terrestrial and OTT is strong,” he said.

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