In preparation for the upcoming Radio and Digital Sound Broadcasting Summit, set to take place on June 18-19, 2024, at The Venue Green Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, Broadcast Media Africa (BMA) sat down with Prof Amin Alhassan, Director-General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation for a chat about the future of Radio and Sound Broadcasting in Africa.
During the conversation, Prof Alhassan noted that “Visualised” radio is the future, and broadcasters will have to re-engineer their studios to tap into social media platforms for new audience reach.
Below is an excerpt from the conversation
BMA: What influenced your decision to agree to participate in the Radio And Digital Sound Broadcasting Summit- Africa 2024?
Prof Amin: Radio and Digital Broadcasting is a critical part of the media ecosystem, and as a head of Ghana’s Public Service Broadcaster, with heavy investment in radio and digital media, this Summit is not just important, it’s crucial. The industry is fast evolving, and continuous learning is vital to enable Management to make informed decisions. The Summit, being held at a timely juncture, is our platform to seek answers and direction for the future of public media. I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to meet key industry players and experts to share experiences and knowledge.
BMA: Please tell us how you see Radio and Sound Broadcasting evolving in today’s fragmented digital media ecosystem. What can industry practitioners look out for?
Prof Amin: Radio has moved away from simply speaking to the air to a new ecosystem where audience members can timeshift through podcasting to conveniently listen to their favourite programs. This is a great opportunity to expand on audience share and revenue.
Visualised radio is the future, and broadcasters will have to re-engineer their studios to tap into social media platform audiences. Africa is predominantly analogue FM radio technology. The future is Digital Radio. Broadcasters must adjust and budget for access to digital radio platforms. We should look forward to learning from early adopters.
BMA: In your opinion/experience, what biggest challenge(s) facing the successful implementation of Digital Radio and Sound Broadcasting services within Africa, and how can they thrive?
Prof Amin: The first challenge is providing platform infrastructure. The second is the mass adoption of digital audio receivers. For Social media platforms, the cost of data will determine mass adoption.
BMA: With all said, kindly tell us what you hope fellow participants will take away from this industry summit?
Prof Amin: The sharing of knowledge on the state of radio and digital broadcasting in Africa. The best and most successful practice, and the economics of it. I am expecting to learn how to increase advertising sales on digital radio.
To join Prof Amin Alhassan at the radio summit, visit the event website here to register.
