Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Tuesday unveiled the reviewed Nigeria Broadcasting Code which contains the antitrust provision aimed at boosting local content and encouraging the growth of the local industry, among other provisions.
The minister said during the unveiling ceremony organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in Lagos, the minister said the antitrust provision will boost local content and local industry due to laws prohibiting exclusive use of rights by broadcasters who intend to create monopolies and hold the entire market to themselves.
He said the antitrust provision would also encourage open access to premium content.
”I must explain that this provision is not new to Nigeria Broadcasting. Exclusivity was disallowed at a certain time in the history of our broadcasting. I recall Multichoice sub-licensing EPL matches to other local operators in Nigeria. I recall HITV engaging several local operators on sub-licensing the EPL when they got the rights,” Mohammed said.
He said the revised code contains the law prohibiting backlog of advertising debts in order to promote sustainability for the station owners and producers of content, as well as the law on registration of Web Broadcasting, which will grant the country the opportunity to regulate negative foreign broadcasts that can harm the nation.
“The provisions on responsibility of broadcast stations to devote airtime to national emergencies…obviously mandates terrestrial and Pay TV channels to make their services available to Nigerians at time of national emergencies – like the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic – for their education and enlightenment,” the Minister said.
Alhaji Mohammed clarified that the amendments were necessitated by a presidential directive, in the wake of the 2019 general elections, for an inquiry into the regulatory role of the NBC with a view to repositioning the regulator for optimum performance.
For his part, the Acting Director General of the NBC, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, commended the present administration for showing keen interest in the development of the Broadcasting Industry through the implementation of reforms and several other interventions.
The event was attended by officials of NBC and other stakeholders in the Broadcasting Industry.
