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Broadcasting
&
Entertainment
Why
NBC and NCC Should Not Be Merged, By ITV GM
In
the ancient city of Benin, the Edo State capital, Sir Martins
Ekpeh sits as the General Manager of Independent Radio and
Television, Benin. In this interview with FRANCA ENEGBETA
in his Airport Road office, he speaks on the present and future
of the private broadcast outfit…
What
have been your challenges in floating a medium of this
sort?
The economic development in this country is a challenge.
As an organization that is set up purely with the motive
of profit maximization and development again you will
notice that Edo State or even Benin City is not a commercial
town but a civil service town. For the past two years,
we have started witnessing a change and growth in the
economic sector because of the large number of banking
institutions. These came in and lifted the way business
has always been done here but before now, it was really
very difficult for people to understand the level of our
operations here because cash and economic development
is needed for broadcasting industry to survive.
How
do you react to the introduction of Silverbird television in
Benin? Won't it affect your operations?
Of course, it will not. We believe that every man is pursuing
his economic interest and like my MD will always say, “the
sky is wide enough for every bird to fly”. We are welcoming
them with two hands because this will actually improve on the
economic sector of the State which will be good for us.
What has been your contribution towards the development
of Edo state?
Qualitative broadcasting, that is our watchword and apart from
that, we have a social responsibility in terms of programmes
we air and ensuring that the society do not go down socially.
We have been able to stabilize the piloting. The station itself
has helped to reduce the labour problem in the State. People
have the opportunity to view the other side of the spectrum.
We bring in so many IT students here for their IT trainings.
We bring them here so they can have a hands-on approach on the
use of the broadcasting studio.
Recently, University of Benin approached us to train a large
group on practical. So they come here twice a week and we give
them practical trainings because we believe that hands-on is
the way the world is going. And if we must contribute our own
quota to national development, which we have been doing, we
need to encourage these ones.
We have been able
to establish relationships with these people with different
awards to show for it. We are however not limited to Edo
State as plans are already in full gear to site Independent
Television in Epe in Lagos State with the
station
already in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Our mission
is to provide our quota to the development of the nation's economy.
What are your criteria for airing a programme?
We consider cultural relevance. Assuming we are in Sokoto and
I go and produce a program on the consumption of pork meat,
what do you think will be their reaction? Our responsibility
first of all is to the people and you know that Edo State is
the seat of culture and that is why we produce programmes that
have cultural and social relevance.
We take cognizance of our political, economic and social interest.
We cannot put up a programme that will create a religious clash
or a programme that will pitch one political party against the
other. So for a good broadcasting, we try to moderate our operations
and ensure that the society is not placed at jeopardy.
Some experts argue that the lack of local contents in
our broadcast has hindered the development of broadcasting in
Nigeria. Would you subscribe to that school of thought?
That depends on the focus of the station. Edo State like I said
earlier has a very rich cultural heritage and of course, there
is no way we can run away from that fact. Our programmes reflect
that richness in our culture so that means we respect the NBC
code which establishes the measure of local contents for each
station. Every station in Nigeria must have a produce of local
contents programmes and we have kept strictly to it.
Does
the repetition of foreign programmes in broadcasting have
any harmful effect to the Nigerian populace?
Yes it does for instance; if you watch most foreign programmes
on foreign stations they lack relevance. Instead of building
which is an aim of broadcasting, it destroys our youths.
Some people find it difficult to programme their minds
to realize that most creative effects are mere acting.
I know as well as you do that they are mere acting, that
nobody has been killed, but the little boy left alone
to watch such a programme do not know.
Because of his tenderness, he believes whatever he sees
And so,
because of that I want to advocate the drastic reduction of
foreign programmes by most media organizations. Individual stations
should realize that they have a responsibility because there
is no State in Nigeria that is not culturally rich. Even programmes
should be censored before being aired because most actions in
films can corrupt and mislead our children.
The stations should realize that they have a social responsibility
to direct the society along the part that will lead us to a
good country.
The government should try to give realistic capitalization to
government stations because the private stations are doing better.
If government stations are allowed to compete with the private
stations, there will be healthy competition that will boost
the economy of this nation.
What do you think
the government can do to boost the effectiveness of the government
owned stations?
It will take a very long time before government reacts because
they believe that the government stations have been set up as
their mouth organs. They don't see them as economic ventures
or as social organizations. The day they start seeing them as
such is the day they will start giving them realistic capitalization
to flow the industry.
It is not enough for you to buy a transformer or transmitter,
studio equipment and put a mask there and you say that is a
broadcast station. Till date, most government stations still
make use of analogue equipment or worst still the equipment
are obsolete. In this computer age, 2008, they are yet to be
digitalized. The government must move with the time.
Would you then say that ITV is able to meet with ITU set standard
for digital broadcasting?
We have turned to digital broadcasting years ago. Our offices
are computerized.
There is nothing like manual or analogue machines in this place.
We are fully ICT compliant.
How do you assess
the regulator, NBC?
NBC like every new organization is still growing. Before now,
there was nobody to regulate so everybody was just going the
way they want. I believe it is a growing agency and that with
time, they will get there.
They have done well with censorship like their hold on the medical
association on the airing of local medical practitioners and
even the issue of piracy. If they were not there, I am sure
the country would have been blown up by now.
What
is your view on the merger of NBC and NCC? Do you subscribe
to the merger?
I don't subscribe to it at all. I believe the two entities should
exist independently. NBC should be a communication research
center for Nigeria. The merger is unnecessary because I don't
see it improving anything.
What is NBC other
than dissemination? Somebody should be somewhere however,
to generate the knowledge for you to disseminate. Diversification
of the functions or responsibilities of an organization will
always lead to controversy. To reduce that element of controversy,
you have to get them to work individually.
There is nothing lacking in NBC or NCC now. Merging the two
bodies will not improve the regulations of broadcasting programmes
in Nigeria. If they cannot regulate now that they are on their
own, it means they still cannot perform even when they are merged.
Merging will not make them effective more than they are now.
The NBC staff should be a body of professional broadcasters,
those that know what the industry entails, and those that are
vast in the broadcasting industry. It shouldn't just be a political
appointment. Somebody might be vast in communication but is
not a broadcaster. It should be a body of highly qualified professionals.
What is the next level for ITV Benin?
We are looking at a situation where we can through qualitative
broadcasting contribute our own quota to the economic development
of the State. We want to see positive changes both in the economic,
educational, religious and social sector. We are also thinking
of branching out to other states.
For now, we have a station in Abuja and our next level is to
move to Epe in Lagos State and we have already started working
on that. Because we believe so much in change, our MD, Sir Gabriel
Osawaru Igbinedion, is leaving no stone unturned in making sure
that this vision is achieved. We are here to leave our footprint
in the sands of time.
What will be your last
word to your viewers?
The regulators should realize that they are dealing with an
industry that is relatively new in Nigeria, especially the television
industry. They should continue to teach through seminars and
public lectures to let the common man know what are required
of him. The government should focus attention on government
stations and stop the frequent change of chief executives. The
labour turnover of government establishment is too high and
this will hinder stability. If the government wants stability
in its stations, they should give them the necessary equipment
and financial enhancements.
Evicted
Oti Speaks On BBA 3
Nigerian
Oti Nwachukwu, Housemate of Big Brother Africa 3 reality
show said his passion in reality show spurred his consistent
application from school until he was successful to represent
Nigeria in the continental event.
Speaking to newsmen in an interactive session organized
by MultiChoice Nigeria, the good looking and outspoken
Oti said though he had university exam the previous day
before the audition, he ensured that he made it to the
venue after several unsuccessful attempts to make it to
the previous editions of Big Brother Africa and the Next
Movie Star. The movie Star said he went to the House with
the intention of making Nigeria proud
and was never disappointed
at
the turn out of event as everything that happened was an act
of God. He apologized to Nigerians who felt that he has caught
short their expectation by his eviction.
Reacting to a question on who he fell in love with in the House,
he said that he went to the House with the intention of remaining
“single” all through the show but got attracted
to Lucia and also developed liking for Sheilla with whom he
shared a common character of being opinionated.
If given the opportunity to go back to the House, Oti said he
would not do anything differently instead he would magnify the
Nigerian trait in him by being in control and making all the
Housemates feel intimidated and unable to perform.
The evicted Oti said the show must be supported by Nigerians
because it brings the best in the youths and expose and prepare
them for major challenges in the future.
According to him, if there is anything wrong with the reality
show, it is certainly not with Big Brother Africa but with the
individual as the show offers one the opportunity to be a good
ambassador of one's country.
Mrs. Erika, a member of the management team of MultiChoice congratulated
Oti for being a worthy ambassador of his country.
Glo Begins
Rock 'n' Rule Pageant Registration
Globacom has commenced registration for the Mr. and
Miss Rock 'n' Rule pageant, as part of the elaborate
Rock 'n' Rule nationwide concert scheduled by the telecoms
giant to begin in October.
The pageant is another opportunity Globacom has created
to empower young people within the 18 25 years age bracket
nationwide to express their innate qualities and reach
their goals.
According to Globacom officials, the pageant will hold
in all the 18 locations where the Rock 'n' Rule concert
will be staged with the winners in each location in
the male and female category smiling home with N250,
000 cash, Nokia N80 phone and a Glo SIM with N10, 000
monthly airtime for one year.
The first runner up will get N150,000 cash, Nokia 6500
phone and a Glo SIM with N5,000 monthly airtime for
one year while the second runner up will receive N100,000,
Nokia 6500 and Glo SIM.
Already, the short code platform for registration for
the pageant has been opened for entries from eligible
Nigerians. Entries, which are restricted to Glo subscribers,
will be processed ahead of the Rock 'n' Rule concert
in each region.
Entry for the pageant can be done by sending name, age,
and location (out of the 18) as sms to 33003 for Miss
Rock 'n' Rule and 33001 for Mr. Rock 'n' Rule. Entry
forms will also be available at selected Globacom regional
offices nationwide.
The entries received will be collated by pageant consultants
while a screening exercise to be held in each of the
18 locations will prune the number of contestants down
before the Rock 'n' Rule concert in each of the selected
cities.
The selected cities include Benin, Abuja, Port Harcourt,
Asaba, Enugu, Jos, Lagos, Awka, Kaduna, Calabar, Owerri,
Lokoja, Uyo, Akure, Umuahia, Makurdi, Ibadan and Ilorin.
Among the star artistes on parade are D'Banj, Sunny
Nneji, Sammy Okposo, Pasuma Wonder, Ego, Original Stereoman,
Mode 9, May7ven Sunny Danja, Basketmouth, Okey Bakassi,
DJ Jimmy Jatt and Ghanaian music diva, Becca and top
Ghanaian artiste, Van Vicker.
The Rock 'n' Rule pageant will search for personable
males and females who are attractive, intelligent and
eloquent enough to aim for the grand finale prize of
a brand new Toyota Corolla and a salary of One Million
Naira for both the male and female categories.
The runner up will go home with a princely sum of N750,
000 and also be named Glo brand ambassador, while the
second runner up will also glow as a Glo ambassador
in addition to a cash sum of N250, 000. The winner and
the runners up also automatically becomes brand ambassador
for Globacom.
JVC,
Kenwood Complete Merger
Building
on an alliance started last year, Victor Company of Japan
(better known as JVC) and Kenwood Corp. have integrated management
and established JVC Kenwood Holdings Inc.
The new company took the place of both old companies on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 1 and also transfered most of
their car-related operations J&K Technologies Corp., a
joint venture the two created in 2007 to focus on car electronics.
“The goal is to quickly maximize synergies in the Car
Electronics business, from which JVC Kenwood HD expects the
greatest synergies in this management integration,”
the company said in a statement. “As a result, J&K
Technologies expanded operations to full-fledged development,
design, procurement and production without limitation down
the road.”
JVC Kenwood Group also started using a new corporate logo
Oct. 1.
MTN
Launches DStv Mobile In PH
Leading
telecommunications operator in Nigeria, MTN has launched its
mobile TV service dubbed DSTV Mobile from MTN in Port Harcourt
with prominent figures in Rivers State in attendance.
The company's Chief Marketing Officer, Bola Akingbade said
the product, brought to Port Harcourt by MTN in partnership
with DStv, would boost the access of the people of the state
to entertainment and information.
“DStv Mobile from MTN offers the pleasures of satellite
TV with full broadcast quality everywhere you go.
This means you can enjoy all your favourite DStv programmes
on your mobile phone with the same clarity that characterizes
your viewing pleasure when streamed on your normal TV at home”
said Akingbade, whose speech was presented by Abiodun Odejayi,
Senior Manager, Masterbrand and VAS.
He noted that with the service, boring moments in slow moving
traffic would become a thing of the past, while out-of-home
appointments would no longer be in conflict with people's
desire to watch their favourite programmes such as news, sports,
music, entertainment or praise worship.
Akingbade said the channels immediately available on the service
include NTA 2, CNN, Super Sports Update, SupersSports 3 and
9, Channel O, Magic World and Africa Magic, Cartoon Network
and TBN. The service, according to him is also currently showing
the ongoing Big Brother Africa on an eleventh channel.
The Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on GSM, Honourable
Chinyere Igwe described the service as innovative and commended
MTN for taking the service to Rivers State. He urged the company
to continue to improve the quality of its service in the state.
The state Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment,
Emmanuel Chinda noted that companies like MTN, which are doing
business in Rivers State, should be supported by all and sundry
so that they could continue to thrive and employ more people.
…Splashes
BMW, N3m Each On Mr & Miss Rock 'n' Rule
In the meantime,
Globacom has raised the stakes for the Mr. and Miss Rock 'n' Rule pageant,
as part of the elaborate plan to make the Rock 'n' Rule nationwide concert
scheduled to begin on Saturday in Benin city the biggest and the best.
The ultimate winner in the male and female categories of the pageant from
the regional finals would have received the grand prize of a brand new
Toyota Corolla and a cash price of One Million Naira each.
However, the stakes have been upped to give the winners in the male and
female categories in the national finals a brand new BMW 3 Series and
the sum of N3 million each.
Globacom officials disclosed that the reception the Mr & Miss Rock
n Rule contests had received during the ongoing screening exercise for
the regional qualifiers has made the company to review the prizes upward.
“We have been most impressed with the enthusiasm shown by youths
across the country and the quality of those who have passed the rigorous
screening exercise managed by our consultants, made us to review the prizes
upwards”, a senior Globacom official said.
MultiChoice
Commissions 10 More Resource Centres
MultiChoice,
Nigeria's leading pay TV operator, has commissioned 10 educational resource
centres in Katsina, bringing to 81 its total number of educational resource
centres across Nigeria.
The MultiChoice educational resource centres are technological resource
facilities by which MultiChoice helps to enhance learning and development
in secondary schools across Nigeria.
According to Joseph Hundah, the company's Managing Director, “as
part of the MultiChoice Resource Centre project, MultiChoice makes available
to secondary schools, physical hardware including television sets, decoders
and satellite dishes, learning boards, laboratory tables and chairs, generators,
video recorders as well as a bouquet of learning and educational channels.”
He said that these educational and learning channels are customized to
this special project and are not available commercially. “The objective
is to assist schools in making the process of learning more vivid and
empirical and therefore, more impactful. Students, in schools where scientific
laboratories do not exist for instance, can witness scientific experiments
being carried out and in the process get valuable insights they could
never have gotten if all they had to do was to imagine how these processes
take place.”
Hundah added that “feedback from the dozens of schools across Nigeria
where the MultiChoice Resource Centre project has been implemented has
been overwhelmingly positive as teachers as well as students have expressed
immense satisfaction with the additional value that the resource centres
add to their quest to teach or learn, respectively.”
States that have so far benefited in the MultiChoice Resource Centre project
which is targeted at the entire country include Lagos, Enugu, Kaduna,
Kano, Cross River, Abia, Ekiti, Bauchi, Katsina and Abuja, respectively,
in four different phases. The fifth phase is expected to commence shortly.
Speaking at the launch in Katsina, the Katsina State Commissioner for
Education, Dr. Ismail Tsigi commended MultiChoice for the Resource Centre
Initiative, describing it as a laudable private sector initiative that
will contribute to significantly enhancing Nigeria's educational development.
He added that the Katsina State Ministry of Education will spearhead a
crusade to help ensure that the facilities at the MultiChoice Resource
Centres are used judiciously by school principals, teachers and students
through close monitoring to ensure that the state derives optimal benefit
from the facilities.
The MultiChoice Resource Centre Project, according to Ade Adefeko, the
company's head of corporate communications and public affairs is a corporate
social investment initiative by MultiChoice. “We realize that knowledge
is pivotal to Nigeria's social and economic development and indeed key
to Nigeria retaining a competitive edge in today's world which is driven
by intellectual capital. This is the reason that we will continue to commit
resources into ensuring that as much as we can, we help to empower thousands
of young people with the knowledge and skill with which to be relevant
and make a real difference in the future”.
In his speech, the Acting Chairman of SchoolNet Nigeria, Dr. Bashir Galadanci,
said the MultiChoice Resource project embodies a partnership between a
diverse range of public and private sector interests aimed at mobilizing
Nigeria's human and financial resources to the singular purpose of transforming
the education system in Nigeria into one which participates in and benefits
from the global knowledge society.
Qatar
Telecom To Launch Mobile TV Trial
Qatar Telecom
(Qtel) and Nokia Siemens Networks have signed the world's first commercial
Mobile TV deployment contract based on DVB-H and OMA BCast Smart Card
Profile technology.
With OMA BCast SCP, mobile operators are able to integrate the management
rights for Mobile TV broadcast content, provided via DVB-H, into their
existing infrastructure. For the authentication of mobile TV subscribers,
Nokia Siemens Networks is providing its One-BSF solution, forming a key
part of Qtel's Unified Subscriber Database strategy for creating a common
subscriber profile to be used for both mobile and DVB-H service.
In addition, Nokia will provide Nokia N96 mobile phones to test the first
SCP compliant software that enables subscribers to choose from among a
host of payment models and interactivity options.
“This innovation introduces 'world firsts' to the global communications
community: Qtel will be the first operator anywhere in the world to commercially
deploy DVB-H SCP. We will also be the first company to integrate the new
Nokia N96 model into our deployment strategy,” said Adel Al Mutawa,
Executive Director of Group Communications, Qtel.
The solutions offered by Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks are based on
the open DVB-H standards.
VOA
Adds Weekday TV Show For Africa
The Voice
of America has launched a half-hour television program that provides Africans
with news and information; it is called “In Focus.”
The magazine-format program will include interviews with American and
African government officials, discussions, segments devoted to health
and other issues, entertainment and human interest stories, VOA said.
Vincent Makori and Ndimyake Mwakalyelye are co-hosts.
It airs weekdays on Intelsat 907 and New Skies 703 satellites. Carrying
the program will be TV Africa in Accra, Ghana; WBS in Kampala, Uganda;
and Citizen TV in Nairobi, Kenya.
Tribute
to Yinka Craig
My Dear
Yinka,
It is now 36 years. You were on 'star' and I was on 'engine hoil'.
Our rendezvous was the then UNILAG Staff Club now replaced with sprawling
students' residential halls.
We both 'gate crashed' to cool down since I was not a staff and you
said you were 'not even a student'. Two 'talkatives' on parade.
Then you drove down the definition lane. You defined your first bottle
as 'staff'. The second would be 'star' while the third would be 'starrss'
by which time you would have been seeing 'the stars'.
We struck friendship. I had presumed you could only have been
from'U-high' but learnt later that you were
actually
a TV guy whose friends littered the campus of UNILAG. Decades after, we
never really met except on your delightful appearances on TV where you
did sports and made it something else. Then NewsLine. Then Morning Ride.
And you moved on, and on, and on, and wherever you stopped, you made indelible
mark. Ultimately in private business.
By the time you looked out for me to find I was back in Lagos after what
you eventually called my 'merry-go-rounding' it was because you had added
Telecom/IT to the long list of your passions. It was amazing to find you
discussing almost every subject you touched with such brilliance and effortless
ease.
You had a mandate to give life to breakfast television. Recall you effortlessly
got me off my bed at 6.00am one morning to hit the road to Bar Beach to
appear on your new project for your former employers. Today, AM Express
has made good breakfast show for millions of TV viewers.
After you signed off that breakfast show, you 'disappeared from the radar'
(my exact words on email) until I located you in cyberspace. Then we met
frequently at telecom events. Then, another long disappearance. We were
no longer meeting at telecom events. No response to emails.
Your phones stopped ringing, and we thought you must have gone, maybe
to Yankee, enjoying yourself. We were all wrong. That I discovered one
afternoon about few months ago when I was invited to a newspaper article
that reported your failing health.
Then a ring and a pick! Here you were, and I yelled! “Yinka, Ngbo
kini won so pe o sewon jare” (What did they say was wrong with 'them'
by the way). You attempted a few megabits of humour. But it was hardly
real. At that split moment I had prayed the whole thing was a dream from
the newspaper report through the long search to the phone call.
Then we climbed down on our mountain of humour and talked real talk and
you said to me “Titi, You know cancer now….' I went blank!
Much as I did not let you know I lost control of myself during that conversation,
I had always thought people who cry have no basis to do so. How wrong!
Now you have gone to sleep and it is easy for me to say we shall meet
later to part no more. You and I have always laughed such statements off
because we know we will not meet again.
In any case you will be in a class meant for only those who are icons,
multitalented, voracious, engaging, thoroughly professional, humorous,
focused, and pleasant to the hilt.
Good night, Yinka.
It's
Nigeria's Day At Channel O MV Awards
It was a great night
for the Nigerian music industry, as some of its biggest acts captured
the best music video awards at this year's Channel O Music Video Awards,
which took place on October 9 at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City,
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Top Nigerian artistes who won laurels at the event include: Ikechukwu
(Best Male Video), P Square (Best Duo or Group) and (Video of the
Year), M-Trill (Best African West), and KC Presh
Ade Adefeko,
Head of Corporate Communications, MultiChoice Nigeria, described the
development as heart-warming, adding however that it was no surprise
as Nigeria is brimming with talents whose creativity will always find
expression and recognition anywhere in the world so long they do not
relent on their oars. In the same vein, Yolisa Phahle, Channel O General
Manager, said, “Spirits were high and the camaraderie as well
asmoral support was evident. Every year these
awards reveal
amazing developments in our music industry and video production improves
year upon year.”
Channel O, Africa's leading music channel available in over 40 countries
on DStv, lived up to its promise of a bigger and better awards ceremony
with the celebration of some of the biggest names in the music industry
across the continent.
Highlights of the event hosted by Channel O DJs, KB Ngakane and Nonhle
Thema were staggering live performances by Nigeria's
Ikechukwu, Ghana's
Irene and Jane, Tanzania's Witness, South Africa's legendary jazz musician,
Jimmy Dludlu who paid glowing tribute to his late friend and mentor, George
Lee, recipient of 2008 Special Recognition Award who passed away on September
16 after a long battle with motor neuron disease.
NBC
Probes TV Phone-in Competitions
The National
Broadcasting Commission has said it is investigating whether phone-in
competitions on TV stations were genuine. Head of Public Affairs, NBC,
Awwalu Ibrahim, told the News Agency of Nigeria recently in Abuja that
the commission would not tolerate any attempt to swindle TV viewers.
Concerns have been expressed by viewers about rip-off charges on purported
live TV phone-in competitions aired on some national television stations.
Some viewers claimed that premium rated calls on TV competitions are merely
being used to generate revenue.
“As a responsible regulatory body”, he said, “we have
taken the initiative to start investigating the programmes and if we find
anybody that is doing anything fraudulent, the commission is going to
descend heavily on him or her, without prejudice to the circumstances
involved.”
