GBC to desist from illegal practices with SMART TV

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has agreed to desist from practices that give them and other TV channels advertised on their digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform undue advantage over others in the broadcasting industry.

GBC, under Mr. Kwadwo Ampem-Darko had some contract with Swedish-owned distributors of SMART TV digibox, Next Generation Broadcasting (NGB) to start offering DTT services ahead of efforts to do a nationwide migration from analogue to digital TV.

The two ignored the National Digital Migration Committee (NDMC), which is a body comprising all stakeholders in the industry, including GBC and NGB, with a mandate to draft policy guidelines for the industry.

While the NDMC was still working, GBC and NGB/SMART TV stabbed their other colleagues in the back and started DTT services under the pretence of piloting the service, even though they were selling digiboxes and doing mainstream commercials and promotions in Accra and Kumasi.

The two companies managed to rope in a number of private TV channels like NET2 TV, TVAfrica, TV3, and Swedish-owned VIASAT1 among others on the platform.

But that was not the first time NGB/SMART TV has showed recalcitrance towards the National Communication Authority (NCA).

The company rubbished warnings from the NCA in April last year and launched their services before they went to hide behind GBC to continue in their illegitimacy.

The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) protested GBC’s behavior and questioned why the NCA sat by and watched a foreign private digibox distributor connive with the state-owned network to perpetrate such gross “illegality”.

Following media reports on the matter, which exposed the illegitimacy and unfairness in GBC and NGB/SMART TV’s behavior, GBC finally came to the discussion table with the NCA on January 13th, 2011 to discuss the issues surrounding the controversial GBC/SMART TV practice.

A statement posted on the website of the NCA co-signed by NCA Board Chair, Kofi Totobi Kwakye and Acting Chairman of GBC Board said “after considering a number of broadcast issues on the GBC DTT platform, the two sides agreed that content issues that have raised concerns and seem to have given undue advantage to some players in the broadcasting industry would be discontinued on the DTT platform of GBC.”

The statement said the two sides also agreed that: no promotional activity on digital broadcasting would be broadcast on the GBC DTT platform either as an advertisement or Live Presenter Mention (LPM) for any company or institution, and all ongoing promotional activities on digital broadcasting on the GBC DTT platform not purely for GBC would be discontinued immediately.

GBC and NCA also agreed that GBC would ensure that all the DTT channels are carrying content that do not contain branding for any such institutions or companies outside of themselves, and that the service should also not offer undue advantage to other players (TV channels) in the broadcasting industry.

The statement said “GBC and NCA would cooperate to ensure digital migration is facilitated in a fair and transparent manner and in ways that prioritize the national interest.”

The National Council of the GIBA said declined to comment on GBC’s sudden turn around.

Meanwhile, the guidelines are now done and government has established a Digital Migration Committee to oversee the processes of the nationwide digital migration.

Information reaching this writer indicates that GBC is complaining about having invested some huge money into their DTT platform, but other industry players find it ridiculous because DTT does not require such huge investment.

A source at the NCA also suggested that SMART TV is losing money because it is not able to sell digiboxes like they had imagined.

The company bought a huge bus for Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko as part of their promotions to capture the Kumasi market, but pundits have their doubts if that has paid off.

But money does not seem to be a factor for NGB because they have Swedish Pension Scheme money to fall on.

By Samuel Dowuona