Audited statements among new requirements for renewal of broadcast licences

-GNBA tells operators

Television and radio broadcasters will from next year be required to submit their audited financial statements to renew their licences, Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) Board of Directors Leslie Sobers has revealed.

The change was announced at a stakeholder engagement, which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre last Wednesday, during which Sobers also announced that GNBA will start conducting audience surveys which it will share with advertisers to inform advertising decisions.

Sobers told those in attendance that broadcasters looking to renew their licence in 2020 will have to present audited reports, a certificate of good standing, and make simultaneous payments of spectrum and licence fees.

“We will take a firm stand against broadcasters who fail to submit their audited reports by refusing the licence for the ensuing year,” Sobers said, before adding that “from the beginning of 2020, the new arrangement will be that your spectrum fee will be paid to the GNBA at the same time you are paying for your broadcasting licence.”

Noting that audited statements for a given year are usually not finalised until “perhaps the end of the first quarter of the” following year, Sobers said, “we would not expect you to have your 2019 audited statements until around April 2020.”

Sobers stated, however, that the GNBA does expect that “at this time you ought to reasonably have in your possession your audited statements for 2018.”

“When renewing your licences for 2020, if we do not see on file submitted, your audited accounts for 2018, you will not be granted a licence for 2020”, Sobers warned.

Failure to maximise coverage

Sobers also said that GNBA is mulling proposing changes in how licences for zones are issued in light of broadcasters’ refusal or inability to broadcast throughout the zones which their licences require them to cover.

Presently, a broadcaster with a licence to broadcast in the primary zone is required to cover all areas within Abary in the East, to Parika in the West, and Moblissa in the South.

He explained that section 32 (h) of the Broadcasting Act requires that a licensed broadcaster ensure that listeners or viewers are able to receive these broadcasts with minimum ease and maximum clarity.

If a broadcaster fails to meet that standard, Sobers explained, he fails to meet the fundamental condition of his broadcasting licence.

Sobers explained, however, the GNBA has observed that some broadcasters have “failed to maximise their coverage of the zones in which they operate”, a failure which he says breaches the freedom of expression guaranteed in Guyana’s Constitution.

As a result, Sobers said the GNBA is actively considering proposing that Parliament review the relevant legislation to allow for the creation of subzones, and the issuance of licences for said zones. These zones, he said, would have smaller ranges, and would be obtainable by broadcasters unable or unwilling to broadcast in the existing zone at a lower cost.

Sobers said that the GNBA can also consider “advising the Prime

Minister to review the laws to allow for more community radio entities. Currently, community radio is generally prohibited in the primary zone, with the exception of the University of Guyana, which has a range of the entire campus, and the immediate environs, and reaches as far as Mahaica.

On the issue of coverage, veteran journalist and proprietor of News Talk Guyana, Denis Chabrol noted that there is an issue with reception in many vehicles which are imported as they have a limited ability to receive on the frequencies being used for broadcast.

He also pointed out that although extenders are an option, some of these are also unable to pick up the frequencies throughout the primary zone.

Sobers said this issue can only be addressed through legislative action, which would require the input of all relevant stakeholders, including the telecommunications agency. He promised, however, that this will be something the GNBA examines in the new year.

Audience surveys

The GNBA will also be using surveys as a basis of ensuring compliance with regulations. The Chairman said that some broadcasters are mistakenly under the impression that they are catering to the preferences of the majority of their perceived target audience.

To paint a picture of reality, the GNBA will be conducting audience surveys and will be publishing the results.

“We have said this before and we urge you to take it seriously. Sponsors love numbers and we would want to know who has wide listenership, and readership and whose programming is preferred, and whose programming attracts public angst…,” he said.

The findings of the survey, he said, will be made public so that advertisers can make informed decisions when looking to place ads.

Sobers added that the GNBA’s immediate focus will be on broadcasters’ conduct in the run up to elections in March 2020. Their conduct, he said, is governed by the fairness requirement stipulated by the Broadcasting Act.

Sobers also shared that post-elections focus will be on increased citizen monitoring, the development of community radio, and a sectoral needs analysis. He also said that the GNBA has reached out to a professor emeritus at the University of Ohio in the United States regarding post-graduate training in broadcasting for GNBA operatives. GNBA has also engaged the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on information storage and retrieval.

Local content

Sobers also urged the utilisation of more local content and for broadcasters to make information available to persons with disabilities, including persons with hearing impairments. Toward this end, he recommended a re-assessment of programming to encourage local songs, literature, and the propagation of local and indigenous culture.

On this point, Chairman of the National Communications Network (NCN) board Enrico Woolford asked Sobers whether any of the funds GNBA collects are intended to be used to assist broadcasters in developing capacity and other competencies to produce local content.

He also told Sobers that broadcasters would be happy to pay the relevant fees required if they know that some of the funds the GNBA accumulates through the collection of fees are used for such purposes.

Sobers, however, swiftly pointed out that the payment of fees is not contingent on assistance programmes but is a statutory requirement, failing which a broadcaster would be in violation of the Act, thus putting the renewal of a licence at risk. He did say, however, that though the GNBA is not mandated to do such, it plans to use some of the funds garnered through the payment of fees to assist in the way suggested by Woolford.