The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was established by law in 1968 with a triple mandate as a State Broadcaster, Public Service Broadcaster, and a Commercial Broadcaster in Ghana. Headquartered in the capital city, Accra, GBC is funded by grants, broadcasting television commercials and the levying of a television licence, costing 36 cedis and 60 cedis for one or more TV sets in the same house every year. TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between 60 cedis to 240 cedis.
History Established under an act by the British colonial government in 1935, the Gold Coast first operated a broadcasting outlet called Station ZOY, a relay station operated by the BBC. It later became the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation after Kwame Nkrumah changed the name Gold Coast to Ghana, upon political independence in 1957.Wells, Alan (1997), World Broadcasting: A Comparative View, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 162. .
Broadcasting began on 31 July 1935, from a wired relay station opened in Accra. The brain behind the introduction of broadcasting into the country was the then Governor of the Gold Coast, Arnold Hodson. He was assisted by a British radio engineer, F. A. W. Byron. Gramophone records of martial and light music were relayed, and Hodson spoke the message:
In 1965, Kwame Nkrumah inaugurated the television division for black and white screens. Both radio and television became main components of GBC's electronic outlets for information dissemination. In 1996, the Supreme Court settled a key debate in Ghana when its ruling committed the state broadcaster to the equal opportunities doctrine in broadcasting. Thus, the corporation is obliged to be fair and grant equal publicity to all political parties in Ghana. Over time, it expanded to meet increasing expectations occasioned by population growth. As a result, the station now operates seven television channels and thirty-three radio frequencies which broadcast in twenty-five languages.
Administration The new broadcasting Service was staffed by eight technicians and housed in a small bungalow on 9th Road near the Ridge Police Station in Accra. Broadcasting first began in four Ghanaian languages, Fanti, Twi, Ga, Ewe, and later Hausa. Part-time staff were engaged to translate and announce the news in these languages until 1943 when full-time staff were appointed. Between 1946 and 1953, the organisation was administered by the Public Relation Department, now the Information Services Department.
The Director-Generals of the GBC were:
J. B. Millar, 1954–1960 W. F. Coleman, 1960–1970 S. B. Mfodwo, 1970–1972 L. W. Fifi Hesse, 1972–1975 & 1984–1990 J. Y. Assasie, 1975–1981 Kwame Karikari, 1982–1984 George Aryee, 1991–1992 David Anaglate, 1992–1995 Kofi Frimpong, 1995–1999 Gilbert Adanusa, 1999–2000 (acting) Seth Ago-Adjetey, 2000–1902 Eva Lokko, 2002–1905 Yaw Owusu Addo, 2005–1907 (acting) William Ampem-Darko, 2007–1910 Kwabena Sarpong-Anane, November 2010–October 2011 (acting) Berifi Afari Apenteng, November 2011–March 2013 Albert Don-Chebe, May 2013 - May 2016 Kwame Akuffo Anoff-Ntow, November 2016 -January 2018 Amin Alhassan, October 1, 2019–Present
Legislation On the recommendation of a commission set up in 1953, the Gold Coast Broadcasting Service (GCBS) was established and from there it became a department in its own right. On attainment of independence in 1957, the Gold Coast was renamed Ghana and the GCBS became Ghana Broadcasting System (GBS). The legislation that set up GBC as an establishment was National Liberation Council Degree number 226 (NLCD266) of 1968.
Television and radio stations GBC operates Ghana Television GTV (a channel for events that matter most to Ghanaians), which is broadcast nationwide on analogue terrestrial platform. Additionally, GBC runs four digital networks: GTV Sports+ (24-hour sports channel that provides premium sports programmes), GBC News (24-hour news and current affairs channel), GTV Life (Religious and cultural channel), and Obonu TV (a channel for the people of Greater Accra and window for the Ga-Dangbe). It has branches or affiliate stations across the regional capitals, partnered with other private and Public Service Broadcasters across the globe, and collaborating with other governments worldwide.
The mandate of GBC requires that it provides services for all segments of the multicultural society, with the cardinal roles being timely information, education and entertainment. It quickly set up the GTV Learning channel to broadcast to school pupils and students forced to stay home as the academic calendar was suspended at onset of the novel Coronavirus pandemic from March 2020. New cards on the table are the plans to establish radio stations in the six newly created regions in Ghana.
Regional FM stations nationwide: Uniiq FM Volta Star Twin City Radio Radio Central Radio Savannah Garden City Radio URA Radio Radio Upper West Sunrise FM Obonu FM Radio BAR
Training school The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, which is also an agency overseen by the Ministry of Information, runs a training school that provides education in radio and TV broadcasting and engineering. The training school has two faculties: Broadcast Journalism and Broadcast Technology. The corporation also promotes training and educational programs and is central to fulfilling the GBC's mission to inform, educate and entertain.
Timeline Year Event 1935 Radio ZOY Established (BH-1) 1939-1940 British Government built BH-2 (now known as Old House) 1943 Local Languages broadcast introduced 1946 Information Service Department handled Administration of GBC 1953 Gold Coast Broadcasting System Established as a Department 1955 Establishment of Engineering Training School 1956 Audience Research Department set up 1956 GBC News unit set up 1958 Broadcasting House (BH-3) built 1960 Mr W. F. Coleman appointed first Ghanaian director-general 1961 External Service 1962 GBC Reference Library established 1965 GTV inaugurated 1965 Rural Broadcasting introduced 1966 Television Licensing Decree, N.L.C.D 89 1967 Commercial Broadcasting introduced 1971 Public Relations Department set up 1975 Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Decree, N.R.C.D 334 1985 Colour Television Introduced 1985 URA Radio established 1986 Accra FM Radio established 1987 Apam fm station commissioned 1989 Installation of satellite TV dish to receive CNN 1991 Television Licensing Regulations, LI 1520 1994 Dormaa Ahenkro Community station commissioned 1994 Twin-city radio commissioned 1995 Radio GAR now Uniiq Fm goes stereo 1995 Radio Savanna commissioned 1996 Radio Central commissioned 1996 Radio Volta Star commissioned 1997 Installation of satellite TV dish to receive Deutsche Welle 1997 Installation of satellite TV dish to receive Worldnet 1998 Installation of satellite TV dish to receive CFI 2001 Radio BAR commissioned 2001 Radio Upper West commissioned 2002 Radio GAR re-commissioned to Uniiq FM 2002 Radio Obonu FM commissioned 2002 Radio Sunrise FM commissioned 2010 Pilot Digital Terrestrial Transmission DTT(MPEG2, DVB-T)started 2010 DDT Committee Inaugurated 2010 Upgrading and Expansion of DTT (MPEG2, DVB-T)to Greater Accra, parts of Central, Eastern and Ashanti Regions 2010 GBC marks Diamond Jubilee 2010 GTV Sports (All Sports Digital Channel) established 2011 GBC24 (24 hour News Digital Channel) established 2011 Obonu Fm marks 10th Anniversary 2011 GBC Life (All Life Digital Channel) established 2014 GTV Govern Digital Channel Established 2014 Obonu TV Digital Channel Established 2014 GBC Digital Set Top Boxes Launched 2015 GBC celebrates 80th Anniversary 2015 TV Licence Fee revised from 30p to 36 Ghana Cedis a year
References
Further reading
External links Official site of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation - GBC