I do not have sufficient information to thoroughly delve into the heart or nitty-gritty of the impasse between the Communications Ministry and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
The truth is that, I am yet to apprise myself of the thinking behind the Ministry's call on GBC to consolidate its six channels into three and the consequent rejection of the mooted idea by the managers of GBC/GTV.
Notwithstanding my slothful appreciation of the real issues which have generated this scuffle between the national broadcaster and the Communications Ministry, I would like to put some observations across.
I must emphasize that these positions of mine are not influenced by the directive from the Ministry of Communications to the state's broadcaster since I am in the dark as to the reasons behind the intent.
For years, GBC sees itself as the Holy Grail of broadcasting in Ghana. The outfit is a Kahuna in the scheme of things. I learn that they have the best of equipment, state of the art ones, and cannot be bested by any other media establishment in the country.
They have well-trained journalists and staff who can compete with the top guns in the industry anywhere in the world.
GTV has six different channels on the state's DTT platform. Six channels from the state's owned media is no mean an achievement. However, questions need to be asked about how these have impacted on GBC.
Multimedia and Despite Media are privately owned media giants and they cannot boast of the huge infrastructural networks in terms of machinery and equipment like those of GBC/GTV but they are far more profitable than the state's owned broadcaster.
GBC/GTV workers are paid by the state. If the Government of Ghana were to withdraw its financial support to GBC, there is no way they could pay their workers every month. I may not be privy to their accounts, but it is an open secret that GBC struggles to even break even. It has become a drain, sort of, on the national purse.
GTV has lost track of the system they are operating in. They are spinning out of control and they don't seem to have what it takes to wiggle themselves out of that dungeon.
They have lost thousands, if not millions of viewers due to poor television programmes. People watch GTV on other television networks, especially when there is a national event being screened by the network.
Multimedia and Despite Media have eclipsed the television industry with mouthwatering programmes while GTV wallows in the same old, mundane mode of broadcasting with programmes not attractive to the eyes of modern day Ghanaians.
GTV is like the Biblical Esau who got supplanted by his younger twin sibling, Jacob by a mere food. GTV has sat aloof for lesser known television stations to box him out of its revered number one position to a place not reserved for the nobles in the industry.
In my view, the fragmentation of GTV into many parts without corresponding yields in terms of monetary returns makes no business sense. The entity needs to take pragmatic steps to regain its once enviable spot.
Some of the workers of GTV were saying they are unable to make ends meet for the organization because people are not paying TV licenses. Who pays TV licenses to Multimedia and Despite Media? No one yet they have outpaced GTV.
I asked a simple question, what does GTV bring home for having six channels? Strategically, GTV does not appear to have the minds to come up with workable solutions to the myriad of challenges the outfit faces. GTV must innovate or allow to float in the sea of independence!
P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.
Source: P.K. Sarpong
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