Nigerian Television Authority, Benin Office

The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after a takeover of regional television stations by military governmental authorities in 1976. After declining interest from the public in government-influenced programming, it lost its monopoly over television broadcasting in Nigeria in the 1990s. The NTA runs the largest

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

with stations in several parts of the country. It is widely viewed as the "authentic voice" of the Nigerian government.

History

Early broadcast stations in Nigeria

The first television station in Nigeria, the Western Nigerian Government Broadcasting Corporation (WNTV) began broadcasting on 31 October 1959. Its first Chairman was Olapade Obisesan, a lawyer trained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the son of Akinpelu Obisesan, an

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

socialite and first president of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria. Vincent Maduka, a former

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, was the General Manager. The station was based in

, making it the first broadcast station in

tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the trop ...

, although more northern parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

already had television stations. In March 1962, Radio-Television Kaduna/Radio Kaduna Television (RKTV) was established. It was based in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

and was operated by the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria. RKTV also provided coverage for the central northern states; it opened new stations on

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

in July 1962 and on

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

in February 1963. Later in 1977, it was re-branded NTV-Kaduna. In April 1962, the

Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation The Voice of Nigeria or VON is the official international broadcasting station of Nigeria. History Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now Federal Radio Corpora ...

(NBC) was established as a federal government-owned service based in the city of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, broadcasting to the southwestern states. MidWest TV was established in 1972 as a TV broadcaster of Port Harcourt. It was run by the state government in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. Benue-Plateau Television Corporation (BPTV) was established in 1974 with headquarters in Jos. It was the first television station to launch regular/permanent colour broadcasts in Africa. The colour test transmissions began on 1 October 1975. BPTV was later re-branded as NTV-Jos. NTA was founded in 1977. By May 1977 all the state television broadcasters listed above were merged and re-branded as Nigerian Television (NTV) and owned by the Nigerian Television Authority. Obisesan and Makuda continued in the roles of Chairman and General Manager of NTA. As of 1979, NTA had reached about 20% of the Nigerian population.

Early programming

1977–1990: Networking locally produced content

Dramatic programming such as serials and anthology series were rare in regional television stations before NTA was founded in 1977. TV shows such as

Moses Olaiya Moses Olaiya (18 May 1936 – 7 October 2018), better known by his stage name "Baba Sala", was a Nigerian comedian, dramatist, and actor. A Yoruba from Ijesha, Baba Sala, regarded as the father of modern Nigerian comedy, alongside other dram ...

's ''Alawada'' on WNTV (later NTA Ibadan), ''Village Headmaster'' and ''Hotel de Jordan'' on NTA Benin became available more widely after the merger. Apart from these few notable shows, there was little original content in dramatic series production during the 1970s. By 1980, when the new NTA network took over state-owned broadcasting stations in the country, there was a concerted effort to increase the quality of locally produced content. NTA began offering support to the production of notable country-wide network programs such as ''Tales by Moonlight'', ''Cockcrow at Dawn'', and '' Mirror in the Sun'' as early as 1977. In 1982, a drama produced by NTA Sokoto, ''Moment of Truth'' won a prize at the fifth URTNA festival held in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. To cultivate interest in original broadcast content from Nigerian producers, the network set a ceiling of 20% broadcasting time to be allocated to foreign programming, during a period when the cost of acquiring those programs was much less than the locally produced ones. With just a portion of the broadcast week for schedulers to work with, foreign imports were routinely some of the most popular shows from the UK and the U.S., such as ''

Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fro ...

'', ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

'', ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', and ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...

''. ''Cockcrow at Dawn'', an agriculture promotional drama partially sponsored by UBA and produced by Peter Igho, who directed the award-winning ''Moment of Truth'', emerged as one of the first nationally televised drama series in Nigeria. However, it was short-lived due to "government structure syndrome". ''Acada Campus'', a show produced by

Bode Sowande Bode Sowande (born 2 May 1948) is a Nigerian writer and dramatist, known for the theatric aesthetic of his plays about humanism and social change. He comes from a breed of writers in Nigeria that favors a post-traditional social and political la ...

, was also short-lived. These series were widely available thanks to NTA's monopoly on broadcasting. In the 1980s, a series of critically acclaimed soap operas were promoted on the network. The first was Laolu Ogunniyi's ''Wind Against My Soul'', followed by ''For Better or Worse'' and Lola Fani Kayode's '' Mirror in the Sun''. The last of these, produced in 1983, was well-received by critics, but its broadcast was interrupted after two years due to a lack of financial support. In the mid-1980s, another group of soap operas dominated the airwaves, including the short-lived ''Behind the Clouds'' and ''Turning Wheels''. In 1984, NTA began to broadcast ''Tales by Moonlight'', a children's programme narrating traditional African folklore stories. The network also broadcast Adelia Onyedibia's adaptation of

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

's ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

'' in 1986. The network also promoted notable comedy series during this period such as ''

New Masquerade The New Masquerade was a Nigerian sitcom that aired on the Nigerian Television Network on Tuesday nights from 8:30pm – 9:00pm during the 1980s until the mid-1990s. It was created and written by James Iroha who also acted in the sitcom. It is o ...

'' and

Ken Saro Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerians, Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homelan ...

's '' Basi and Company''. One of the earliest network comedies was ''House no. 13'' (1984) starring

Wale Ogunyemi Chief Wale Ogunyemi, OFR (12 August 1939–December 2001) was a Nigerian veteran seasoned dramatist, film actor, prolific playwright , and Yoruba language scholar Early life Ogunyemi was born on 12 August 1939 at Igbajo, a city in Osun St ...

;, a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

satirizing the social and urban lifestyle of Nigerians. ''Basi and Company'', a critically acclaimed comedy series starring Albert Egbe was broadcast in 1985. '' Village Headmaster'', ''Koko Close'' and ''Samanja'', three series spoken in Nigerian Pidgin, were aired nationwide.

1990s: Partial commercialization

Under the structural adjustment program initiated by the government of

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

, NTA was required to commercialize some of its time slots in an attempt to move away from public broadcasting towards a partially commercial broadcasting network. This led to the addition of sponsored and brokered religious programs and the live transmission of weddings and funeral services on the network. NTA also continued to show acclaimed

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

such as ''Mind Bending'' by

Lola Fani-Kayode Lola Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian television producer known for the creation of '' Mirror in the Sun'' and ''Mind-Bending'', an educative and information television program about the dangers of drug addiction starring Joke Silva and Akin Lewis. She ...

, ''Ripples'' by

Zeb Ejiro Zeb Ejiro, Order of the Federal Republic, MFR is a Nigerian Filmmaking, filmmaker and producer. He is one of the two brothers of Chico Ejiro, a veteran Nigerian filmmaker and producer. In November 2005, Zeb received a National award of Order of ...

and ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' by

Amaka Igwe Amaka Igwe (2 January 1963 – 28 April 2014) was a Nigerian filmmaker and broadcasting executive. Igwe was the owner oTop Radio90.9 Lagos and Amaka Igwe Studios. She was recognized as one of the second-generation filmmakers who helped begin t ...

. ''Ripples'', which began in 1988, became the network's longest-running soap opera, ending in 1993. ''Checkmate'' by Amaka Igwe, starring

Richard Mofe Damijo Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State in 2009. In 2005, he wo ...

, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Ego Boyo,

Kunle Bamtefa Kunle Bamtefa is a Nigerian actor known for playing the role of "Uncle Pablo" in '' The Johnsons'' family sitcom and Chief Fuji in ''Fuji House of Commotion''. Filmography *'' Checkmate'', 1991 *''Mortal Inheritance,'' 1996 *'' Violated'', 199 ...

and Mildred Iweka, launched the career of many Nigerian celebrities. Following the end of ''Ripples'' and ''Checkmate'', NTA promoted the shows ''Blossom'' and ''Fortunes'', but these series suffered from declining viewership. At this time NTA, which previously had a broadcast monopoly, faced competition from new entrants such as

Africa Independent Television Africa Independent Television, also known by its acronym AIT, is a privately owned television broadcaster in Nigeria. It operates Free To Air in Nigeria as the largest privately operated terrestrial television network with stations in twenty-fo ...

. To compete, the network introduced

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

Latin American

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

s such as '' The Rich Also Cry'', '' Secrets of the Sand'' and '' Wild Rose''. Programming for children or for education usually occurred between 06:30pm and 07:00pm. Shows included ''Fun time'', ''Readers club'', ''Work it Out'', and ''Take a Step''. In 1999, the network introduced

breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

with ''A.M. Express''.

News

News programming was central to NTA's and the government's efforts to forge national unity. The network ensured that news presenters did not simply read prepared scripts but acted as part of the news gathering team. As many of their early news writers came from print journalism, NTA made sure that writers understood the importance of writing for visual presentation. NTA introduced a new line of newscasters and reporters such as Ronke Ayuba,

John Momoh John Momoh (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and the Chairman and CEO of Channels TV, an independent and multiple award-winning 24-hour news and media television channel based in Lagos. He is widely recognized in Nigeria as a t ...

, Cyril Stober, Bimbo Oloyede, Ruth Opia, Sienne Allwell-Brown and Sola Omole. Specialized news programmes like Frank Olise's ''Newsline'' were also introduced. The major news programmes were the ''Network News at Nine'', a 5-minute ''News in Brief'' at 5:00pm, and a 15-minute ''Newscap'' at 11:00pm. Minna

In the 1990s, NTA joined other state-owned stations in commercialising some aspects of news reporting by including festivals, social events, cultural and business activities in the news or as part of a news programme in return for the payment of a fee.

21st Century programming

As of 2013, mandatory network programming dominated the airtime of most local NTA stations. The local stations were offered a choice of a local broadcasting time from a specific time range. During the daytime, magazine shows like ''A.M. Express'', later renamed ''Good Morning Nigeria'', aired for 2½ hours from 6:30am to 9:00am and from Monday to Friday, but other programs air once or twice every week. Network dramas like '' Super Story'' and ''Stand Up Nigeria'' were usually broadcast in the Tuesday and Thursday 8:00pm slot. Notable sports programs include ''On the Pitch'' on Mondays. NTA, which previously had some original children's programming, formed a partnership with

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

to broadcast

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's programmes during its 5-7 pm time slot for children and instructional television.

Network news

NTA's news mostly reports on government activities. The major news production is ''Network News'', an hour-long programme that airs at 9:00 pm Monday-Friday except on Wednesdays, when it is replaced with ''News Extra''. ''Network News'' usually starts with news from the presidency, then news from the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, followed by ministries and state governments. Other news productions include ''News at 7'' and ''Nationwide News'' at 4 pm. Investigative reporting and human stories are usually subordinate to covering government activities, with the exception of ''Newsline'' which airs on Sunday evenings. The 9pm news programme has one of the network's highest advertising rates for 30-second ads. Paid news segments such as 'News of Special Interest' are inserted into network broadcast news such as ''Newsline'' or the 9pm network news. Other notable news productions include ''Panorama'', ''One o'Clock Live'', ''Inside the Senate'', and ''You and Your Rep''.

Imported programmes

Former

Animated *''

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'' is a children's animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder. Produced in 1986–7 for television syndi ...

'' *'' The Adventures of the Little Prince'' *''

Atom Ant Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in ''The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'' (sharing top billing with Secret Squirrel). In syndication, Atom Ant aired alongside '' Precious Pupp'' and '' The ...

'' *''

Battle of the Planets ''Battle of the Planets'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972). Of the 105 original ''Gatchaman'' episodes, 85 were used in the ''Battle of the Planets'' adaptation, produced by Sandy Fra ...

'' *''The Bear, The Tiger and the Others'' *''

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

'' *''

Biker Mice From Mars ''Biker Mice from Mars'' is an American science fiction action animated series created by Rick Ungar. The series premiered in syndication the week of September 19, 1993. It consists of three seasons of 65 episodes, with the final episode airin ...

'' *''

Birdman and the Galaxy Trio ''Birdman and the Galaxy Trio'', or simply ''Birdman'' or ''The Galaxy Trio'', is an American animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. ...

'' *''

Bright Sparks ''Bright Sparks'' is an Australian educational television series that first aired in 1989. The series taught viewers about science and technology. The series included animated characters (Sparky, Alex, and Amy) learning new ideas in science ad ...

'' *''

Captain Planet and the Planeteers ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' is an American animated environmentalist superhero television series created by Barbara Pyle and Ted Turner and developed by Pyle, Nicholas Boxer, Thom Beers, Andy Heyward, Robby London, Bob Forward and Cas ...

'' *''

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...

'' *'' Danger Mouse'' *'' Dennis the Menace'' *''

Dino-Riders ''Dino-Riders'' is an animated television series that first aired in 1988. ''Dino-Riders'' was primarily a promotional show to launch a new Tyco toy line.

'' *''

DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space ''DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space'' is a science fiction animated television series that was Broadcast syndication, syndicated to television from September 24, 1965 to March 7, 1970. The series follows DoDo, a young humanoid Extraterrestrial life ...

'' *''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' *''

Fables of the Green Forest is an anime television series based on a series of books published in the 1910s and 1920s by Thornton W. Burgess which ran on the Japanese network Fuji Television from 7 January 1973 to 30 December 1973. It consists of 52 episodes and was pr ...

'' *''

Groovie Goolies ''Groovie Goolies'' is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1971. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its mo ...

'' *''

G-Force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

'' *'' Harlem Globetrotters'' *''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...

'' *''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' *''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...

'' *''

Jimbo and the Jet-Set ''Jimbo and the Jet-Set'' (often shortened to simply ''Jimbo'') is a British animation, animated cartoon series centered on the eponymous Jimbo, an anthropomorphic aeroplane. The series, created by Peter Maddocks and produced by Maddocks Cartoon ...

'' *''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired fr ...

'' *'' King Rollo'' *'' Little Wizards'' *''

The Magic School Bus ''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise that includes a book series, a TV series, a streaming series, and video games. Each of the stories within the franchise centers on the antics of a fictional elementary sch ...

'' *'' Muppet Babies'' *''

The New Shmoo ''The New Shmoo'' is an American animated television series based on the character from the ''Li'l Abner'' comic strip created by Al Capp, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1979 to November 15, 1980. ' ...

'' *''

Ovide and the Gang ''La Bande à Ovide'', a.k.a. ''Ovide and the Gang'', is a 1980s animated TV show produced by the Canadian animation studio CinéGroupe (who also produced Mega Babies, Sharky and George and The Little Flying Bears) in association with Belgium's ...

'' *''

Pigeon Street ''Pigeon Street'' is a cutout animated children's television series, written by Michael Cole, originally shown on the BBC in 1981 as part of its 'See-Saw' strand for preschoolers. There were two series with eight and five episodes respective ...

'' *''

Pingu ''Pingu'' is a stop-motion children's television series co-created by Otmar Gutmann and Erika Brueggemann. It was originally produced from 1990 to 2000 by Swiss company The Pygos Group (originally called Trickfilmstudio) for SF DRS in Switzerl ...

'' *''

Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...

'' *''

Samurai Jack ''Samurai Jack'' is an American animated action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. Tartakovsky conceived ''Samurai Jack'' after finishing his wor ...

'' *'' Samurai X'' *''

Secret Squirrel ''Secret Squirrel'' is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera and also the name of his segment in ''The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show'', which debuted in 1965. He was given his own show in 1966, titled ''The Secret Squirrel Show'', but was ...

'' *''

SilverHawks ''SilverHawks'' is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were ...

'' *''

Speed Racer ''Speed Racer'', also known as , is a Japanese media franchise about Auto racing, automobile racing. ''Mach GoGoGo'' was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 ''Shōnen Book''. It was released in tankōbon book form by Sun W ...

'' *''

Sport Billy ''Sport Billy'' is a 1980 animated television cartoon made by Filmation Associates, initially for broadcast in Germany. The series was a single 26 episode saga that premiered in Germany and other parts of Europe from 1980 to 1981. In 1982, Filma ...

'' *''

SuperTed ''SuperTed'' is a Welsh superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear o ...

'' *''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' *'' ThunderCats'' *'' Thundersub'' *''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

'' *''

Towser {{Infobox television , image = , caption = , alt_name = , genre = Animation , creator = Tony Ross , developer = , writer = Tony Ross , dire ...

'' *'' Victor & Hugo: Bunglers in Crime'' *'' Voltron: Defender of The Universe'' Children's Programmes *''

3-2-1 Contact ''3-2-1 Contact'' is an American science educational television show produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988 and later ran on Noggin (a joint venture between the CTW ...

'' *''

Animal Kwackers ''Animal Kwackers'' was a popular children's television series produced by ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television and broadcast on United Kingdom, Britain's ITV1, ITV in the 1970s. The Animal Kwackers were a four-piece pop band consisting of Ror ...

'' *'' The ChuckleHounds'' *''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

'' *''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

'' *''

Rentaghost ''Rentaghost'' is a British children's television comedy show, originally broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, whic ...

'' *''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' *''

Terrahawks ''Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks'', usually referred to simply as ''Terrahawks'', is a 1980s British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures for London Weekend Television and created by the product ...

'' *''The Waterville Gang'' Drama *''

'' *''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' *''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'' *''

Tour of Duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

'' Comedy *''

Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' is a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by the London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979 and briefly reviv ...

'' *''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'' *''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986 to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector ...

'' *''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen (scriptwriter), Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, inc ...

'' Sports *''

Telematch Telematch was the name given to a syndicated series of 43 programmes from the West German television series '' Spiel ohne Grenzen'' originally broadcast on the WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln) channel from 1967 until 1980. It was based on its Fren ...

NTA branches and network centres

As of 2014, NTA had 101 stations in state capitals and towns of Nigeria, nine of which are network centres. The network centres mostly derive from Nigeria's early broadcast stations, and are located at Ibadan, Jos, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos, Benin, Makurdi, Maiduguri,Sokoto and Port Harcourt * NTA Aba * NTA

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...

* NTA

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

* NTA Plus

* NTA

Ado-Ekiti Ado Ekiti is the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, southwest, Nigeria. History Ado Ewi is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the son of Biritikolu. Awamaro (the restles ...

* NTA

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

* NTA

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of o ...

* NTA

Awka Awka () is the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria. The city was declared capital on 21 August 1991, after the creation of Anambra and Enugu state, which moved the capital from Enugu to Awka (an administrative center since pre.-colonial times). ...

* NTA

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

* NTA

* NTA Birnin-Kebbi * NTA

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

* NTA

Damaturu Damaturu is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Yobe State in northern Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Damaturu Emirate. History Damaturu came into existence as a colony when it was carved out of the Alagarno district by the ...

* NTA

Dutse Dutse is the capital city of Jigawa State in northern Nigeria. It is home to Federal University, Dutse established in November 2011. In addition to the Federal University Dutse, there is also a Research Institute for Date Palm (Sub-Station) and s ...

* NTA Enugu * NTA Gombe * NTA

Gusau The city of Gusau, located in northwestern Nigeria, is the capital of Zamfara State. It is also the name of the state's Local Government Area (LGA), which has an area of ² and a population of 383,162 as of the 2006 census. The area's postal ...

* NTA

* NTA Ife * NTA

Ijebu-Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road north-east of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and p ...

* NTA

Ilorin Ilorin is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.. Retrieved 18 February 2007 As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667, making it the List of Nigerian cities by population, 7th ...

* NTA International * NTA

Jalingo Jalingo is the capital city of Taraba State in north eastern Nigeria , named in fulfulde (The word jalingo meaning superior place and has been estimated with population of 118,000. and the city is mainly dominated by Fulanis and others small eth ...

* NTA Jos * NTA

* NTA

Kafanchan Kafanchan (''Fantswam'': A̠byin Fantswam; '' Nikyob'': Manɡyanɡ) is a town located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria, which owes much of its development to the railway development in the area, being situated at a particular junc ...

* NTA

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

* NTA 2 Channel 5

* NTA Channel 10 Lagos * NTA

Lafia Lafia is a town in North Central Nigeria. It is the capital city of Nasarawa State and has a population of 330,712 inhabitants according to the 2006 census results. It is the largest town in Nasarawa state. History Lafia, also known as Lafian b ...

* NTA Lokoja * NTA

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

* NTA

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popul ...

* NTA

Minna Minna is a city in Middle Belt Nigeria. It is the capital city of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. It consists of two major ethnic groups: the Gbagyi and the Nupe. History Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the ...

* NTA

Ondo Ondo may refer to: Japan * Ondo, Hiroshima * Ondo (music), a style of folk music * ''Ondo'' class oiler, ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Nigeria * Ondo City * Ondo State * Roman Catholic Diocese of Ondo * Ondo Kingdom (c. 1510–1899) People ...

* NTA

Osogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Olorund ...

* NTA

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

* NTA Oyo * NTA Port Harcourt * NTA

Sokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the c ...

* NTA

Uyo Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom in South South Nigeria. Ibibio is the language spoken in Uyo. It became the capital on September 23, 1987 when Akwa Ibom was created from the former Cross River State. According to the 2006 Nigerian Cens ...

* NTA

Yenagoa Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. It is located at the southern part of the country at coordinates . The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 352,285 at the 2006 census. Th ...

* NTA Yola * NTA

Sapele ''Entandrophragma cylindricum'' is a tree of the genus '' Entandrophragma'' of the family ''Meliaceae''. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli ( ) or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu. Origin of the name The name ''sa ...

* NTA Education * NTA Sports

Criticism

NTA is partially funded through a state subvention. NTA has faced criticism that the content it covers is influenced by government and politicians. This interference is said to diminish the professionalism of newscasters on NTA. The NTA has been criticized by performing artists such as Becky Umeh for allegedly pressuring her and other artists to align their expression with government propaganda goals. In an editorial on 18 October 2009, the Lagos newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated that "the federal government-owned television network, the Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA) is arguably the largest of its type in Africa, but it is yet to have the operational freedom required to maximize its potential." It has been suggested that the proliferation of NTA stations in every state capital is not useful for broadcasting but is driven by political reasons. The network has also been criticized for using antiquated technology.

Related services

NTA's digital Pay TV service, Startimes, was established in 2010 as a partnership with Star Communications Technology of China. Additional NTA channels include NTA Yoruba, NTA Ibo, NTA Hausa, NTA Sports 24 and NTA Parliamentary Channel.

International broadcast

A number of NTA programmes can be viewed online via Africast as well as TelAfric Television in the US and Canada. NTA News bulletins are frequently aired on

and BEN Television in the

, where the station was also launched on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

on channel 213 in 2008. It moved to channel 202 on 1 September 2008 to give space to new channels. In early March 2010, NTA refused to broadcast as a pay-per-view channel on Sky, and was removed from Sky EPG on the following day. The channel returned on Sky in the UK on 20 June 2018 on channel 781. NTA is also available on the

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...

platform SuncasTV, and via free-to-air satellite on

Galaxy 19 Galaxy 19 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 97° West longitude, serving the North American market. Galaxy 19 replaced Galaxy 25 which is nearing the end of its design life and has been moved to 93.1°W longitude. It was ...

Intelsat 905 Intelsat 905 (or IS-905) is a communications satellite operated by Intelsat. Launch Intelsat 905 was launched by an Ariane 4 rocket from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, at 06:44 UTC on June 5, 2002. Capacity and coverage It will provide ...

and Intelsat 507.

Notable staff

* Eugenia Abu - Newsreader and correspondent (''Network News'', ''Newline''), NTA Network * Muhammad Kudu Abubakar - Newsreader (''Network News''), NTA Network *

Art Alade Modupe Afolabi Jemi-Alade (December 14, 1937 - June 29, 1993) popularly known as Art Alade was a Nigerian television personality and producer who was the host of ''The Bar Beach Show'' a weekly variety show on NBC-TV that aired during the 1970s. ...

- Presenter (''The Bar Beach Show''), NTA Lagos *

Chris Anyanwu Christiana "Chris" Anyanwu MFR (born 28 October 1951) is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, author, and politician. She was imprisoned from 1995 to 1998 for treason after reporting on a failed coup d'état against the government of Sani Abacha, ...

- Newsreader and reporter, NTA Aba *

Ben Murray-Bruce Benedict Murray-Bruce (born 18 February 1956) is a Nigerian business magnate and politician. He is the founder of Silverbird Group. A member of the People's Democratic Party, he was elected to the Senate of Nigeria in March 2015 where he rep ...

- NTA director-general (1999-2003) *

Julie Coker Julie Coker (born Juliet Coker, July 25, 1939) is a Nigerian television presenter, producer and newsreader, now retired. One of the country's pioneer female broadcasters, Coker was a familiar face during the infancy of Nigerian television, most nota ...

- Newreader and presenter (''Julie's World''), NTA Lagos *

Sadiq Daba Sadiq Abubakar Daba, known simply as Sadiq Daba (1951/52 – 3 March 2021) was a Nigerian actor and broadcaster. In 2015, he won Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as "Inspector Waziri" in ''October 1''. Education He had his ...

- Producer and editor, NTA Sokoto and NTA Jos *

Funmi Iyanda Olufunmilola Aduke Iyanda (born 27 July 1971), better known as Funmi Iyanda, is a talk show host, broadcaster, Film and TV producer, media executive, philanthropist, journalist, and blogger. She produced and hosted a talk show, ''New Dawn with ...

- Sports reporter and presenter (''New Dawn On Ten''), NTA Lagos * Chuka Momah - Presenter (''NTA Sports'', ''Big Fight of the Decade'', ''Sports Spectacular''), NTA Network *

- Newsreader (''Network News'' and ''Tonight At Nine''), NTA Network *

Tade Ogidan Akintade Ogidan, aka Tade Ogidan (born July, 1960), is a Nigerian film and television screenwriter, producer and director. Early life Born in Lagos, Nigeria, to middle class parents Akinola and Rachael Ogidan, he grew up in Surulere, a sub ...

- Producer/Director, NTA 2 Channel 5 *

Boniface Offokaja Boniface Okechukwu Offokaja (21 May 1940 - 10 November 2018) was a Nigerian broadcaster. He was one of the secondary school students who represented Nigeria in a 1957 High School debate. He became the first Nigerian to become the head of the new ...

- first Nigerian head of news department, NTV (1963-) *

Onyeka Onwenu Onyeka Onwenu (born 31 January 1952) is a Nigerian singer/songwriter, actress, human right activist, social activist, journalist, politician, and former ''X Factor'' series judge. Dubbed the "Elegant Stallion" by the Nigerian press, she is a fo ...

- Newsreader and reporter, NTA Lagos; presenter (''Contact'' and ''Who's On?''), NTA Network *

Nkem Owoh Nkem Owoh (born 7 February 1958) is a Nigerian actor and comedian. In 2008, he won the African Movie Academy Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in the Nigerian film, "''Stronger than Pain"''. Early life Nkem Owoh was born in E ...

- Producer and newsreader, NTA Enugu * Bimbo Roberts - Newsreader (''Network News''), NTA Network * Cyril Stober - Newsreader (''Network News''), NTA Network *

Alex Usifo Alex Usifo (born 16 April 1953) is a Nigerian actor. Career Usifo auditioned at different media houses including Radio Nigeria Lagos, Voice of Nigeria, NTA Ilorin etc. He made it to the top list, but was dropped because of ‘Racial quota, Qu ...

- Operations assistant/producer, NTA Benin * Ruth Benamaisia-Opia - Newscaster (''Network News'', ''Newsline'')

External links

Official site

NTA Field Site

References

{{reflist, 3 Television in Nigeria Television channels and stations established in 1959 1976 establishments in Nigeria Public broadcasting in Nigeria

History

Early broadcast stations in Nigeria

Early programming

1977–1990: Networking locally produced content

1990s: Partial commercialization

News

21st Century programming

Network news

Imported programmes

Former

NTA branches and network centres

Criticism

Related services

International broadcast

Notable staff

External links

See also

References