NBC Set to Address Anti Competitive Practices in Broadcasting

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is set to tackle sharp practices of broadcasting operators, designed to address anti competition in the industry.

The Commission recently invited an international team of TV market consultants to undertake an economic baseline study of the sector.

They will specifically undertake a review of current market structures to see if there are any restrictions to content, including premium rights and events, and whether such restrictions hinders the emergence of new services, and platforms, and their ability to compete effectively.

The consultants will also assess other issues such as market dominance, network, programme access rules and content exclusivity, impact of the advertising market on broadcast revenue and operations, with particular attention to revenue returns for broadcast stations.

They are also to examine whether any current market conduct adversely affects revenue for broadcasting stations in Nigeria. This is of vital importance because the economic survival of the broadcasting market depends on the operation of the advertising market.

Meanwhile, the commission is set to institute a team of local and foreign experts to examine the role of foreign sports broadcasting property rights, such as football rights on the cost of pay television in Nigeria as against the development of our local leagues, and its impact on the cost of pay television in Nigeria.

The committee, which shall be formally constituted soon, shall work to reduce the possible impact of such rights on the cost of our local TV rates.

Inside source revealed that in order to adequately deal with some of the issues, which have arisen from both the digital transition and the competition issues within the Nigerian broadcasting market, the NBC recently set up the DigiGroup Contact Team made up of broadcasters, signal distributors, set top box manufacturers, legal and technology experts.