NTA Enugu is a unit of the Nigerian Television Authority seated in Enugu, capital of the eponymous state. It is the successor of the former ENTV, which existed before the Nigerian Civil War.

History

Eastern Nigeria Television (ENTV) was the second television channel to go on air in Nigeria, after Western Nigeria Television. It was set up by the government of the Eastern Region and launched on 1 October 1960, the day Nigeria achieved its independence. The state's government partnered with a foreign company to provide the service.[1] Its slogan was "Second to None" and like WNTV, was a heavily commercial-influenced service. To meet the cost of its operation, the regional government made annual subventions to ENTV.[2]

At the beginning, ENTV was limited to Enugu, but quickly extended its signal to Aba and Port Harcourt. With the strategic location of these cities, ENTV became the most prosperous station in Nigeria at the time. By 1964, ENTV had reached the entirety of the region, and was seen in parts of other regions by spillover, expanding its market area. Hot off the success of the station, ENTV ordered two one-million watt transmitters from American company Continental Electronics, to be erected at a height of 840 ft, the highest in West Africa at the time. This would enable ENTV's overspill to increase even to neighbouring countries, Ghana, Congo, Cameroon and the Fernando PĆ³ island of Equatorial Guinea.[1]

The plans were stalled in 1966, when the civil war broke out and ENTV was intensely damaged by mortar shells.[3] Moreover, Enugu, the city ENTV was headquartered from, was the initial capital of the secessionist republic of Biafra in 1967. Once the civil war ended and the Biafran territory was reannexed to Nigeria, ENTV resumed broadcasting in 1970.

With the creation of the Nigerian Television Authority thanks to the internal subdivision reforms, NTV-Enugu (later NTA Enugu) was put up under the C zone, corresponding to south-eastern Nigeria. The creation of new states led to the creation of NTA Aba-Owerri in the former coverage area. In November 1978, NTA Enugu ceased broadcasting to Calabar due to the creation of NTA Calabar. The Calabar station was the only former ENTV repeated that was in zone C under Enugu's supervision, while controlling the Makurdi station north of Enugu.[4] The jurisdiction of the city of Enugu at the time of the reforms was Anambra, Enugu became its own state in 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 "TWENTY YEARS OF NIGERIAN TELEVISION: 1959-1979" (PDF). University of North Texas. August 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. ā†‘ Kolade, Christopher, "Nigeria," Broadcasting in Africa, ed. Sydney W. Head, Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1974.
  3. ā†‘ WPN and Advertiser's Review, Lagos, November 27, 1965, p. 65.
  4. ā†‘ "THE ROLE OF TELEVISION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA" (PDF). University of North Texas. August 1983. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.