The Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) met with television broadcasters on March 3rd and discussed ratings for shows, “lewd” music videos and the question of licence fees.
A statement from the GNBA yesterday said that the meeting with the broadcasters was hosted in an effort to become better acquainted with them.
Chairman Leonard Craig officially presented the Board of Directors. Present were: Anthony Vieira, Jocelyne Josiah, Vic Insanally and Ex- Officio Member: Valmikki Singh, the Managing Director of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), while Directors Ameena Gafoor and Abiola Wong- Inniss were not in attendance.
The Chair highlighted the names of the Sub-Committees of the Governing Board and introduced:
* Josiah, Chair of the Monitoring and Compliance Committee (MCC)
* Vieira, Chair of the Legal Matters, Fees and Licensing Committee (LMFLC)
* Insanally, Chair of the Finance Committee (FC)
The release said that each Chairperson spoke of the work currently being done by their respective Committee. It was noted that the country was divided into Commercial Zones. These include: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Zones. Specified fees for Television were also outlined, the release said.
TV Ratings such as TV-MA (Mature Audiences) and the content of “lewd” Music Videos were also mentioned while advice was given with regards to advertising. Emphasis was placed on monitoring and compliance. The release said that all broadcast media will be monitored based on approved guidelines. A review of those guidelines will be done.
It was noted that licence fees need to be looked at. The release lamented that the current Board inherited a situation where there had been no monitoring, regulating or enforcing. To this end, Broadcasters were assured that efforts are being made to level the playing field as far as possible.
The release said that the event saw participation from a wide cross-section of local television broadcasters who expressed their concerns. Some of these included unfair practices among broadcasters, the fee structure, signal interferences and the need for protection by the GNBA.
The release said that the board members addressed the concerns that broadcasters raised, assuring them that the Governing Board is “working assiduously to ensure the issues within the Broadcast Industry are appropriately addressed. More so, the Board wishes not to work in isolation but to encourage effective communication and collaboration on the way forward.”
