Nigerian Television Authority

The Nigerian Television Authority - also known as NTA - was inaugurated in 1977 and is the government-owned body in charge of television broadcasting in the country.^[1] The NTA claims to run the biggest television network in Africa with stations in several parts of Nigeria. Formerly known as Nigerian Television (NTV), the network began with a take over of regional television stations in 1976 by the then Nigerian military authorities, and is widely viewed as the authentic voice of the Nigerian government.

Background and history

The first official director general was Vincent Maduka, a former engineer. Prior to his appointment Maduka was General Manager of Western Nigeria Television, Ibadan, which was Africa's first television station. The NTA has been criticized by performing artists such as Becky Umeh for pressuring artists to align their expression with government propaganda goals.^[2],^[3] The Guardian in its editorial of Sunday October 18, 2009 stated "The federal government-owned television network, the Nigeria Television Authority, (NTA) is arguably the largest of its type in Africa, but it is yet to have the operational freedom required to maximise its potentials". However, the NTA's monopoly on the Nigerian airspace was broken in the mid-1990s with the establishment of privately owned television stations and networks, notable among which is the Africa Independent Television.

Programming

A number of NTA programmes can be viewed online via Africast. NTA News bulletins are frequently aired on Africa Independent Television, and BEN Television in the United Kingdom. The station was made available through Sky in the UK on channel 202, but in early March 2010, they refused to make their channel pay-per-view on Sky, the next day the channel was removed from the Sky EPG. It is also on the IPTV platform SuncasTV, and via free-to-air satellite on Galaxy 19, Intelsat 905 and Intelsat 907.

NTA Branches and Network Centers

• NTA Aba
• NTA Abeokuta
• NTA Abuja
• NTA Plus Abuja
• NTA Ado-Ekiti
• NTA Akure
• NTA Asaba
• NTA Awka
• NTA Bauchi
• NTA Benin
• NTA Calabar
• NTA Damaturu
• NTA Dutse
• NTA Enugu
• NTA Gombe
• NTA Gusau
• NTA Ibadan
• NTA Ife
• NTA Ijebu-Ode
• NTA Ilorin
• NTA International
• NTA Jalingo
• NTA Jos
• NTA Kaduna
• NTA Kano
• NTA Katsina
• NTA 2 Channel 5 Lagos
• NTA Channel 10 Lagos
• NTA Lafia
• NTA Lokoja
• NTA Maiduguri
• NTA Makurdi
• NTA Minna
• NTA Ondo
• NTA Osogbo
• NTA Owerri
• NTA Port Harcourt
• NTA Sokoto
• NTA Uyo
• NTA Yenagoa
• NTA Yola
• NTA Sapele
• NTA Education
• NTA Sports

References

1. ^ "The Nigerian Television Authority - About Us". Nigerian Television Authority. Accessed May 2010.
2. ^ A hard road to travel, THE GUARDIAN (Nigeria), 1999-06-16 
3. ^ as Alejo Berates Govt, The Post Express, Nigeria, 2002-04-02 

External links

• Official Site
• Africast
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