Press freedom under siege: NGE slams NBC over ‘dangerous’ threats to sanction broadcasters - ITREALMS Online

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The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has raised a red flag over the latest regulatory maneuver by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), describing the Commission’s recent threat to sanction broadcast presenters as a "direct assault" on the foundations of democracy and media independence, reports ITREALMS.

In a strongly worded press release issued on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the NGE warned that the NBC’s move to penalize journalists for alleged "bullying" of guests or presenting opinions as facts is a standard prerequisite for state-sponsored censorship.

Court nullifies NBC code to fine broadcasters - ITREALMS

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A Federal High Court in Abuja today declared null and void the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code authorizing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to impose fines on broadcast stations for alleged breaches of the Code as it ruled that administrative and regulatory bodies could not exercise judicial powers.


Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the NBC following the Commission’s imposition of fines of N5 million each on a television station and three pay TV platforms in 2022 for allegedly undermining Nigeria’s national security by broadcasting documentaries on banditry in Nigeria, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia held that the NBC not being a court of law, acted above its powers by imposing such fines.

The judge commended MRA for its legal challenge of the NBC’s action and issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Commission or anyone acting on its behalf from further imposing any fine on any media platform or broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged offence committed under the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

Thomson Video Networks showcases @ CCBN 2015

ITRealms:

The Thomson Video Networks (TVN) has concluded plans to showcase innovations that enable broadcasters to maintain the highest standards for video quality and evolve seamlessly, cost-effectively, and profitably as new live video paradigms emerge at the forthcoming China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) 2015, reports ITRealms.

Corporate Communications Director at TVN, Crystèle Trevisan confirmed this to ITRealms, disclosing that on display at the three-day event slated for between March 26 through 28, 2015, will be the company's award-winning technologies for high-density video contribution, transcoding, and next-generation HEVC 4K compression for UHDTV playout and multimedia broadcast multicast services (eMBMS). 

Trevisan also noted that Thomson Video Networks will present a demonstration of world-class contribution, transcoding, and multiplexing technologies working together to deliver the high levels of multi-screen video quality required for premium channel broadcasting. 

As said by Trevisan, featured products will include the market-leading ViBE™ CP6000 and CP6100 contribution platforms, supporting an unprecedented eight HD channels per 1-RU chassis and industry-leading compression performance; the ViBE EM4000, the industry's premium encoder offering a density of eight HD MPEG-4 AVC channels in a 1-RU chassis; and the NetProcessor multiplexer and video processor. 

Also, Trevisan pointed out would include demonstration of high-density compression of long-tail content with its award-winning ViBE™ XT1000 Xtream Transcoder. An all-new video transcoder for OTT, cable, and telco applications, the ViBE XT1000 enables media companies, video service providers, and broadcasters to launch new turnaround services rapidly and cost-effectively. 

The ViBE XT1000, the director said, supports up to 54 HD channels or 180 SD channels with transcoding from any format to any format including MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/AVC, making it ideal for linear broadcasts on cable, IPTV, DTH, and DTTV services, as well as multi-screen delivery among others.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE
 
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