Govt to provide N200bn for broadcast operators

The Federal Government has said it will float a N200bn fund to enable operators in the broadcast industry to deliver quality services to consumers.

The Chairman, National Broadcasting Commission, Prof. Herbert Orji, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening of the 10th edition of the NBC flagship conference and exhibition known as Africast.

Orji said the money would serve as revolving fund and would give broadcast operators the opportunity to obtain grants and loans at minimal interest rates.

He also said the fund would be sourced from multilateral agencies, foreign organisations and other relevant bodies that were keen on supporting the Nigerian broadcast industry.

He said the ongoing digitisation of the broadcast industry was not just about technology, adding that content occupied a place of primacy in the effort to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting in the country.

Orji said, “We have tried at the NBC to focus attention, perhaps not away from technology aspects, but also to emphasise that content is important. In fact, it has been the experience of all the countries that have digitised that what drives and increases digital uptake is the availability of content.

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