By the end of August Cabinet will be in possession of a comprehensive plan to regulate broadcasting, inclusive of a detailed proposal for the establishment of a Broadcasting Commission, according to the minister responsible for the sector Obie Wilchcombe. <\/P><\/p>\n
The commission will cost approximately $500,000, Minister Wilchcombe told the Bahama Journal.<\/P><\/p>\n
In a previous Bahama Journal interview he had pegged the initial cost to set up the commission at $1.2 million. However that figure was reduced to $800,000, before eventually being lowered to $500,000.<\/P><\/p>\n
Mr. Wilchcombe is reportedly working closely with the Minister for State for Finance, James Smith regarding funding for the body to ensure that it can carry properly monitor the industry.<\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Wilchcombe said he is now carefully considering 50 applications for radio stations in Exuma, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, New Providence and elsewhere.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93The former administration gave out licenses the day they were leaving office. \uffa0That was a mistake, but I understand it was more political,\uff92 Minister Wilchcombe said.<\/P><\/p>\n
Presently, there are 12 radio stations throughout the country, with two New Providence based stations, including Radio Love 97, in the process of expanding to Grand Bahama.<\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Wilchcombe said officials are considering additional licenses for New Providence, but he admitted that the market is \uff93over crowded.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
Among the requests are applications for R & B, contemporary, all women\uffb4s and all sports radio stations.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93The reality of it all is we\uffb4re seeing an increasing number of applications for radio licenses. \uffa0There is a tremendous amount of interest,\uff92 he said.<\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Wilchcombe insists that there is a pressing need for a Broadcasting Commission to properly regulate the industry.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93The former administration agreed to private radio stations without regulations. \uffa0We don\uffb4t want to have radio stations spouting out misinformation or music that proliferates other cultures,\uff92 he said.<\/P><\/p>\n
The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was originally mandated to monitor the broadcast industry, regulating content and cost of services. The new commission is now expected to work closely with the PUC.<\/P><\/p>\n
The minister was unable to say when and how many new licenses will be granted, but noted that it is predicated on the availability of bands and what the needs are in various islands.<\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Wilchcombe said it is very important to get a commission in place soon. \uffa0He pointed out that there are no regulations besides what exists in the Broadcasting Act.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93(The Act) did not take into consideration private broadcasting and when we introduced private broadcasting we did not put in place regulations. \uffa0So we are ensuring that we have regulations that are consistent with today\uffb4s world, but at the same time understanding the unique culture of The Bahamas,\uff92 he stated.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93We\uffb4ve done a lot of preliminary work. \uffa0We\uffb4ve looked at commissions around the world, really investigating them, trying to do what\uffb4s in the best interest of The Bahamas,\uff92 he added.<\/P><\/p>\n
He said a number of things are being considered before a final determination is made. \uffa0<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93We\uffb4ve been settling our regulations, determining our approach to that, wanting to be very careful we do not make a mistake and also the demographics. \uffa0We want to ensure that we\uffb4re not creating more problems,\uff92 said Minister Wilchcombe.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93You have to know what\uffb4s available on the FM band and the AM band before you issue licenses, so all that\uffb4s being considered.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Minister Wilchcombe said he is now carefully considering 50 applications for radio stations in Exuma, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, New Providence and elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}