Politics
THE minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, has
received the report of the Audience Measurement Task Team, with a
pledge to implement it in order to reverse the declining fortunes of
Broadcast Advertising in Nigeria.
“Based on the feedback that I have received and the eloquent speech
just read out by your Chairman, I am convinced that the report that
you are submitting today will go a long way in helping us to achieve
our objective, which is to solve the Audience Measurement issue in
Nigeria, once and for all,” the minister said on Thursday while
receiving the report virtually in his office in Abuja.
He said the absence of a world-class Audience Measurement System has
resulted in under-investment in the Broadcast Advertising sector and
stunted its growth, unlike the Nigerian film, music, and fashion
industries that have grown significantly over the past decade.
“As I have said on many occasions, the value of Nigeria’s Broadcast
Advertising Market is not proportional to the country’s population,
when compared to the Top 3 Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite
having a population more than three times that of South Africa,
Nigeria’s Television Advertising Revenue in 2016 was US$309 million,
compared to that of South Africa, which was US$1.3 billion,”
Mohammed said.
He said with the submission of the report, the immediate task before
the government is to bring the under-performing the Nigerian Broadcast Advertising Market to what it should be, which is two to three times its current size.
The Minister said this could result in an additional US$400 million of
revenue in the industry within the next three years, adding: “The key
to achieving that objective is the faithful implementation of the
the report you are submitting today.”
”Let me assure you that we will study the report and implement the
recommendations, especially the 5-Step Agenda, with the same vigour
and commitment that you have employed in putting it together,” he
said.
In his remarks during the virtual submission of the report,
Bello-Kankarofi, who is a former Registrar of the Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria said the current Audience
Measurement System, AMS, is two decades old, which still uses the old
diary method (pen & paper) of collecting data on TV viewership and
Radio listenership across key locations in Nigeria.
Bello-Kankarofi observed that the current practice is
challenged by the growing number of TV and Radio stations, which the
Digital Switch Over mandate will further exacerbate hence the need to
replace it with a scientific-based Audience Measurement System.
Other members of the Task Team, which was inaugurated by the minister
on 2 June 2020, are Obi Asika; Hajia Sa’a Ibrahim; Mahmoud
Alli-Balogun; Pauline Ehusani; Tolu Ogunkoya and Joe Mutah
(Secretary).
The event was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture, Grace Isu-Gekpe, and the Acting
Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria,
Ijedi Iyoha.
Aug. 14, 2020 | 16:10
Tags: Minister receives audience measurement report pledges implementation
