TV broadcasters to lose signal in 2024 if usage fees are not settled – Ursula warns

Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has cautioned that television signals to homes and offices could face shutdown next year if broadcasters fail to pay for the usage of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.

Addressing the Parliament floor on Monday, Owusu-Ekuful emphasized that the government, which has hitherto covered the operating costs of the platform, is no longer willing to shoulder the financial burden. Despite multiple notifications, some media houses have been reluctant to meet their payment obligations, she noted.

"As I speak, none of the broadcasters on the DTT platform pay for using it, and this situation cannot continue given our current economic state," she declared.

Responding to concerns raised by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Owusu-Ekuful clarified, "GIBA is not a broadcaster hosted on this platform. So I don’t know in which capacity they would be acting. They have constituent members who are broadcasters on the DTT platform, but none of them have paid a pesewa to date for being hosted on the platform, so it is not correct any member being hosted on the platform has paid for it."

The Communications Minister went on to warn that failure to settle the fees could result in the shutdown of the platform, leading to a potential disruption in TV broadcast signals.

“Government says it cannot continue to pay for it, so if they do not pay for it, unfortunately, we may find ourselves in a situation where we cannot receive TV broadcast signals because the platform will be shut down for non-payment of the operational expenses that it is incurring,” she stated.

Digital Terrestrial Television is a technology for terrestrial television where television stations broadcast television content in a digital format.

GA/SARA

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