The Nigerian Television Authority has said it requires $15 million to complete its digitisation programme and N6 billion for total restructuring across Nigeria.

The director-general, NTA, Sola Omole, stated this on Friday in Tianjin in Beijing at a seminar on African digitisation. The seminar, the fifth in the series, was organised by StarTimes, a telecommunication company in China.

StarTimes has a presence in Nigeria through its partnership with the NTA in its digitisation programme. The forum had over 40 representatives from African countries including Nigeria.

It has as its focus, the challenges of digitisation and why most African countries will not meet the June 17 digital migration and switchover.

Mr. Omole said only four African countries had met the requirement and were ready for the switchover. “As at now, over 97 per cent of African countries, including Nigeria, may not meet the June 17 deadline,” he said.

Mr. Omole said Nigeria started on a bright note but soon slowed down due to funding challenges.

“We made steady progress through the assistance of our partners StarTimes, but attention shifted to politics and there was lack of funds during the period which affected the programme,” he said. “It will be difficult to meet the June 17 switchover deadline because the structure on ground does not support it, though efforts have been made, there exists several gaps and challenges.”

“NTA needs some time to provide the needed infrastructure and adequate funding which is most critical. The process is capital intensive and most African countries are at various stages of implementation while only a few had advanced. It is said that the switchover will affect countries around you that are analogue. But now that most African countries are not ready, nothing will change.”

The DG said the challenges affecting African countries were the same – funding and providing the structure.

“It is a capital intensive project replacing a whole package from analogue to digital and the training need. It is a complex situation,” Mr. Omole said. “Our organisation needs over N6 billion for restructuring because what we do affects so many agencies that depend on us directly or indirectly as an institution.”

Mr. Omole said the support from the organisation should not be the primary concern but proper funding and providing structure to complete the project.

The chairman of StarTimes, Xinxing Pang, said the digitisation project started in Nigeria in 2009.

He said his organisation had so far provided 15 high power transmitters in Nigeria through its partnership with the NTA.

“What remains is for government to support the project through funding and providing infrastructure for its completion,” he said.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/184978-nta-requires-15m-to-complete-digitisation-says-dg.html

The person below me should go and give NTA the $15mil I gave him last week to hold for me.

INTROVERT:
The person below me should go and give NTA the $15mil I gave him last week to hold for me.

NTA should be privatised for effective management. Buhari should not waste his time pumping money into that place. The management will simply embezzle it and nothing will improve.

seunmsg:
NTA should be privatised for effective management. Buhari should not waste his time pumping money into that place. The management will simply embezzle it and nothing will improve.

Yep. The Buhari administration should, at least, commercialize it. The FG could still own it, but the private businessmen will be responsible fro its day to day management. And the station should, just like the BBC, be granted editorial independence.

If this happens, NTA would cease to be AGIP.

CFCfan:

Yep. The Buhari administration should, at least, commercialize it. The FG could still own it, but the private businessmen will be responsible fro its day to day management. And the station should, just like the BBC, be granted editorial independence.

CFCfan:

Yep. The Buhari administration should, at least, commercialize it. The FG could still own it, but the private businessmen will be responsible fro its day to day management. And the station should, just like the BBC, be granted editorial independence.

Commercialisation is a good idea but, this is still Nigeria. Remember the attempt to fully commercialise Nitel during the OBJ regime. Pentascope was brought in to manage the place and it ended in disaster. That's why I feel an outright privatisation will be better. But they can start at least by commercialising the place instead of giving $15 million to the present crop of management.

seunmsg:



Commercialisation is a good idea but, this is still Nigeria. Remember the attempt to fully commercialise Nitel during the OBJ regime. Pentascope was brought in to manage the place and it ended in disaster. That's why I feel an outright privatisation will be better. But they can start at least by commercialising the place instead of giving $15 million to the present crop of management.

Privatization may lead to greater efficiency in running the station. However, if NTA is fully privatized, a good number of its present 94 stations may be shut down.
The new owners may opt for a maximum of 2 stations per state or even 1 per state (except Lagos).

Who still watches NTA?
My television has rejected the TV station long ago.
Mtscheew!

Ben Murray Bruce. A PDP senator representing Bayelsa Mismanaged NTA and went with huge amount of money to open SilverBird.

Now same station is crying for Digitization.
.

Your reach out station.....NTA2 channel 5iveeeeeeeee...NTA is so backward that they still broadcast as if we are in the 90s. They should go and sit down jare; funding for curbing terrorism is our priority.

Ymodulus:

Ben Murray Bruce. A PDP senator representing Bayelsa Mismanaged NTA and went with huge amount of money to open SilverBird.

Now same station is crying for Digitization.
.

he was d DG b4 his silverbird breakthrough, rumors had it that stella obasanjo helped him in a multi-million dollar scam plus his tinapa scam n anoda one am not sure of with akpabio

Let them just sell off NTA, just look at how well SABC is doing.

Obiagelli:
Let them just sell off NTA, just look at how well SABC is doing.

Motion seconded...

So NTA is still thinking about digitalization at this age?

For what. Wetin dem dey show wey dem need dat kind amount. I tink president buhari should probe NTA ooo.

rubbish channel and poor brownish image quality that even a full Hd Ledtv cant help its picture stay crips clear.

NTA has been very disappointing, and has not kept up with technology in its area. It's hard to know exactly what to do with it.