Owelle FM 99.5, Enugu,is ruling the airwave in the South East as the first indigenous private station in the world broadcasting in pure and undiluted Igbo language.
In this interview with PREMIUM NEWS, the Managing Director of Owelle Media Limited, Joe Anichebe, provides inlets into the station’s humble beginning, operations, giant strides, challenges,and its projections.
The former spokesman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises,BPE,also speaks on how his work experiences in the agency put paid to the current successes of the radio station as well as the country’s broadcast environment.
Excerpts:
Looking at the broad spectrum of radio journalism in Nigeria,would you say the country has been able to maintain standards in line with global demand in the industry.
I think the broadcast media (Radio in particular) is over regulated, compared to other climes especially when in competition with the Social Media which is barely regulated. I think more people are thinking toward the internet radio which may not require spectrum assignment from the regulator to operate.
The advertising revenue has tanked but the regulation is on the increase.
What are the challenges besetting radio broadcasting in Nigeria and the way out?
The revenue sources are dwindling while regulation is stifling the subsector. Broadcasting is no longer a profit making business, rather a cost center. Those in that business today either have passion for the industry or politicians who may want to use it to advance their political careers
What is your take on the proliferation of radio broadcasting stations in the country?
Good and bad. Good because we need as many divergence of views as possible to grow our democracy but bad because revenue sources have drastically reduced because of the general economic downturn
Tell us about your Igbo language station?
We are the first all Igbo language Radio Station in the world. We are glad to say that one or two stations have joined us in the last few years. The passion is what is keeping us. Some advertisers believe that only the rural poor who have low purchasing power listen to us but we are proud that even at that, we are one of the most listened station in the Southeast.
Why did you opt for Igbo station and where did the idea for the business come from?
Simply a passion. I toyed with the idea in the United States in the 1990s to use Montgomery County Cable network as a carrier and got approval but the issue of creating content for a 24-hour broadcast wasn’t going to be easy so we rested the idea.
Since then I vowed to take an early retirement and move back to my village to actualize the idea
What type of corporation is the business?
We are a limited liability company, licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission as a commercial broadcast station, if I understand the question/
How would you describe the success of the radio station so far?
Our key success is to be continuously on air for more than five years without breaking even. The resilience and passion of the staff and fear of disappointing our listeners are the key drivers
Who are your clients and the primary competitors in the market?
Our key clients are the rural folks. The rural farmers, petty traders and artisans. While we identify BBC Igbo as a key competitor in listenership and quality, we consider all the broadcast stations around our license jurisdiction as revenue competitors.
Tell us how much time is spent working on the business each day?
As a startup, I spend minimum of 15 hours a day thinking about how to grow our revenue sources and how to catch up with the competition
How long did it take for the business to earn a profit?
Unfortunately, for more than five years of operation, we are yet to break even. All our initial projections were thrown out of the window. We projected foreign exchange at about N187 to a dollar but purchased our equipment at about N700 to a dollar. We are not on national grid, we provide our own power with diesel generator and solar. We had projected diesel at N200 per liter but purchased as much as N3000 from black market to stay on air. Meanwhile, our advert rates have not changed in five years
Did your experience as the former spokesman of BPE help your business?
I think I leveraged more on my experience as Director, Post Privatization Monitoring and as government Representative on some Corporate Boards. My advocacy for cost cutting measures helped me look for areas to cut cost for our survival.
What is your staff strength?
We are currently operating with about 21 full time staff and about 10 part time staff
Could you share with us how you ensure the radio station complies with NBC regulations?
A key component of our operation is compliance with the NBC Codes. The strategy we have adopted is to make the Code part of staff orientation at the point of entry and periodically invite experts to refresh our memories on compliance
How do you ensure staff members are trained on NBC regulations?
As mentioned above, it’s a key component of our operation. It’s like fish and water but constant trainings and refreshers we stay largely compliant
How often do you audit programming and operations to ensure compliance with NBC regulations?
We send our program schedules to the NBC monthly for approval
What other new programmes would your viewers enjoy in the New Year?
Our global listeners are requesting for increased tutorials in Igbo language to help their children and wards learn Igbo language. So we are working on collaborating with Igbo language teachers to improve and increase the teaching of the language. We are also working on apps to convey the tutorials to their homes.
