In Nigeria, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), has assured the media that the agency will work to promote SLTV, indigenous satellite television.
Ali gave the assurance when Dr John Nwafor, managing director of Metro Digital Limited, the operator of SLTV, paid him a recent work visit in Abuja.
The managing director said promoting indigenous brands would ensure the country’s inclusive development and encourage consumers to buy local products.
“We identify with your goal and will always tell stories promoting indigenous initiatives.
“NAN is very reliable and trusted brand, and will always be on the side of the underdog, we will always be on the side of the truth.
“Rest assured that this is home, and the agency is open to any kind of partnership,” he assured.
He further said that the agency was also working on rebranding its local and international offices worldwide to tell Nigerians’ and Africans’ stories inclusively.
According to him, presently, we are working on repositioning the agency to compete more favourably with other global brands and work smart.
“We are already positioning to face the impending challenge of Artificial Intelligence, and we are looking at having good automated news content.”
Earlier, Nwafor commended the Federal Government’s efforts to encourage indigenous satellite television companies, such as SLTV, to enter the network industry.
He explained the process began during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, with the modification of the National Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC) Codes and Act to accommodate local players.
“The government tried to open up the industry and encourage local players to participate in the satellite television ecosystem, and it made some changes in the NBC code and Act.
“The Copyright Act was also modified to encourage Nigerians to participate in the industry because we believe that when the industry is opened up, the consumers will win.
“Then, former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, invited us to look at the framework and see how we can participate.
“It was during that process that we applied for a licence for our Direct-to-Home transmission paid television, which is SLTV,” he said.
He further said the action was followed with a mandatory court order to ensure that the reviewed NBC code was adhered to and implemented.
Nwafor said that the government’s intervention was to end the content exclusivity of a few giant satellite television companies.
The SLTV boss appreciated the management of NAN for telling the story of SLTV’s emergence, adding that indigenous satellite television networks would thrive with Nigerian support.
Highlight of the visit was the presentation of three SLTV decoders and dishes to the management of NAN.
