NBC was established in 1991, a year after Namibian independence, and is mainly funded by an annual state subsidy. It is headquartered in the capital, Windhoek, and operates three TV channels, and eight radio services.
NBC broadcasts FM radio in the country’s official language, as well as the lingua franca Afrikaans, German and regional languages Ovambo, Damara/Nama, Rukwangali, Setswana, Herero and Silozi. Additionally all the radio stations are streamed online.
Namibia is said to be the country with the most free media in Africa, and on the 2014 World Press Freedom Index ranks 22nd, well above wealthier countries such as the UK and Australia, and 20 places above neighbouring South Africa.
Despite being the world’s second-most sparsely populated country, NBC’s radio coverage reaches approximately 94 per cent of the population, aided by a wide-reaching network of 260 transmitters across the nation.
The broadcaster has good traction and integration on social media, with over 20,000 Facebook likes and a following of 7,000 for its 5,000 tweets – including live-tweeting the country’s general election in November 2014. The election was reportedly the first in Africa to use electronic voting. The NBC also has an education network – a strand of locally produced learning, history and business programmes for adults and children.
Although primarily state-funded, a significant part of NBC’s revenue comes from a licence fee. In 2014, NBC launched an innovative competition to encourage citizens to pay their licence fee by offering prizes of cars and electronic gadgets. Competition entry was via mobile SMS.
NBC’s Director-General is Albertus Aochamub, who also serves as a Vice-President on our board.
Year established: 1991
Digital standard: DVB-T2
Web address: http://www.nbc.na
Main funding source: State direct, License fee and other
Ownership: Government of Namibia