NBC Code: Lagos Film Academy advises NBC on how to grow the broadcast industry

The Lagos Film Academy (LFA) has condemned the recent amendment to the Sixth Edition of the NBC Code and made suggestions to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on how it can grow Nigerian broadcast industry.

The amendment which was announced by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on May 27, 2020, has prompted a wave of outrage and criticisms from several players in the broadcast and creative industries.

LFA in a statement, on Tuesday, by its Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ruby Igwe, said the amendment seeks to make content exclusivity illegal and compels right holders to sub-license content they have exclusive rights to, to other broadcasters, at a price enforced by the NBC.

The Academy says it believes the new code will negatively impact the lives of Nigerian creatives and content producers who currently struggle with numerous challenges of production and distribution.

“The code will make it even more difficult for operators and investors to derive maximum value from the value chain of content production or broadcast,” the statement read.

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“Real growth in the broadcast industry will come from opening up the content production, distribution and broadcasting space by removing unnecessary roadblocks. Here are our immediate suggestions to the NBC:

• Widen the scope of consultations around the amendment of the broadcasting code. Invite, involve and include real industry players, listen to their genuine concerns and inspire a level playing field.
• Be a truly neutral industry regulator. Lay the guidelines, stand away and let the players play. NBC should not be involved in fixing sub-licensing prices, as it should be a willing-buyer-to-willing-seller agreement that doesn’t involve the regulatory body.
• The NBC should formally ban or discourage sale of airtime in the Nigerian broadcast industry. Broadcasters should live or die by their content creation and commissioning. Without a market-driven motivation to invest in content, local broadcasters may simply sit back and collect rent, like the NTA of today does. This singular action will reinvigorate the local content space massively. SABC in South Africa is a worthy case study.

The LFA called on NBC and the Federal Government to suspend and reverse this recent amendment to the code.