WINDHOEK – The national broadcaster, Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), will soon introduce a third channel, ‘nbc 3’, which will focus on general entertainment, Chairman of the NBC Board, Sven Thieme, announced last week at the official launch of the corporation’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) system, which will see it migrate from analogue to digital television broadcasting.
The switchover, to be effected before the end of the year, is in line with the Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting in the Southern African Domestic Community (SADC) whose deadline has been set for December 2013, while the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has set the global date as June 2015 when all countries must have migrated to digital television. NBC already launched a second live channel to cover parliament, news and current affairs in Windhoek on November 26.
“We are also due to complete the technical readiness in Oshakati, Eenhana, Kamanjab, Erongo and Impalila Island, and we will announce when residents of those areas can buy the decoders soonest,” he added.
NBC has finalised the digitalisation of its networks and has been requesting households to purchase the required decoders that would enable them to watch digital free-to-air television.
The decoders are available at the Mobi-pay outlet at Wernhil Park and are priced at N$159.20, which is 20 percent lower than the actual retail price of N$199. This special offer is only applicable to the first 20 000 decoders sold According to Thieme, most NBC radio stations would soon be available countrywide through the decoder for N$200 and N$100 for designated groups.
The NBC board chairperson highlighted some of the national broadcaster’s successes saying that NBC has “stabilized a large part of its financial management and discipline although we are far from perfect and a lot of work still needs to be done.”
Among other achievements, he said that they have created a new organizational culture with a new purpose and values and have developed own leadership development programmes.
“Corporate governance structures are being streamlined with new committees functioning much better. These committees are the audit and risk and remuneration,” he informed the audience.
He said that proper funding of the institution from a combination of government funding and generation of own revenue has resulted in a break-even situation as at end of March 2013.
The Minister of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Joel Kaapanda, equally enthused over the initiative to switch from analogue to digital, saying that Namibia has made good progress in DTT migration.
Among milestones achieved, he said, was the DTT Policy and National Plan which was approved by Cabinet and gazetted, as well as the establishment of a DTT Forum. The DTT policy is aimed at creating an enabling environment and legal framework within which digital migration should take place in the country.
The national DTT Forum consists of various stakeholders including NBC, TBN, One Africa, CRAN, MultiChoice and MISA.
Kaapanda further disclosed that the issuing of multiplex and signal distribution licences were at an advanced stage and the recent gazetting of DTT policy would accelerate the process.
Digital TV is set to bring better sound and picture, and increase consumer choices as more programmes and contents will be accessed, as well as internet access through digital TV, interactive services, video on demand and information services.
By Magreth Nunuhe