On November 9, 1980, Lagos Television commenced operations underneath the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos State. Forty-six years later, the station continues to reinvent itself, strengthening its place as the genuine voice of Lagos by means of high quality broadcasting, improved infrastructure and an increasing digital presence. BUKOLA BAKARE writes.
Solape Lawrence is an avid reader and humanities fanatic who has lived in Lagos for greater than 4 many years. An introvert who cherishes her shut circle of pals and values her private time, she enjoys maintaining with breaking information and watching healthful leisure on her favorite tv stations, together with Lagos Television (LTV).
With a broad smile and a nostalgic glint in her eyes, Lawrence remembers how she typically hurried dwelling in the late Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties to tune in to Lagos Television. The acquainted strains of Greek composer Vangelis’s Chariots of Fire would fill the airwaves, signalling that high quality leisure was about to start.
For Lawrence and plenty of different Lagos residents, LTV represents greater than a tv station. It evokes reminiscences of an period when the station was a family identify, offering information, leisure and programmes that mirrored the character and tradition of Lagos.
Forty-six years after its institution, Lagos Television continues to construct on that legacy, navigating an more and more aggressive media atmosphere whereas in search of to draw new audiences and strengthen its relevance.
In the starting
Lagos Television is a state-owned tv station situated in the Agidingbi space of Ikeja, Lagos. Established in October 1980 underneath the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the station commenced operations on November 9 of that 12 months, with a mandate to tell and entertain the public, promote cultural values and supply high quality tv broadcasting.
LTV grew to become the second tv station established by a state authorities in Nigeria, after the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS). It additionally made historical past as the first tv station in Nigeria to function on each Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands.
Today, the station broadcasts on UHF Channel 35 and is obtainable on pay-television platforms, together with DStv Channel 256 and GOtv Channel 120, in addition to StarTimes. Its evolving distribution technique additionally displays the want to achieve audiences past conventional tv platforms.
A trusted model by means of the years
Over the many years, Lagos Television has maintained its place in Nigeria’s broadcasting panorama by means of information, public affairs, cultural programming and leisure.
Its mission is to ship high-quality, related and inclusive tv and digital content material throughout broadcast, cellular and on-line platforms to tell, educate and entertain, whereas selling the values, improvement and numerous cultures of Lagos State and Nigeria.
Its imaginative and prescient is to change into Nigeria’s main state-owned multimedia broadcasting community, famend for credible information, compelling content material and revolutionary digital companies that inform, educate, entertain and encourage, whereas showcasing the excellence and vibrancy of Lagos State to the world.
In pursuit of those goals, LTV serves its numerous audiences by means of information bulletins and a broad vary of programmes, together with The Conversation, Tori Tori, Sports Splash, City Scene, Issues and Trends, Pendulum, Legends, Little Sparks, Breakfast in Bed, Idile Alaayo, Kaaro Ojiire, Ibile Update, State on Focus and Lagos Transportation Agenda.
The range of its programming underscores the station’s ambition to cater to audiences throughout completely different age teams, pursuits and communities.
Commending the station because it marks its forty sixth anniversary, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State and APC governorship candidate, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, congratulated its administration and workers, led by the General Manager, Mr Kayode Oyekanmi, following his current look on The Conversation.
Hamzat praised the situation of the station’s services and acknowledged the state authorities’s funding in sustaining the establishment.
“I entered this place (LTV), and it’s beautiful, nice and well-maintained, which speaks to some of the things that government has done to sustain this institution. Therefore, we are happy that we are reaching Lagosians through Lagos Television,” he stated.
He added: “We wish you well and pray that you continue to do what you are doing, which is informing Lagosians. By doing that, you are deepening our democratic credentials, letting people know what is happening in government. Sometimes, you are critical, which is good. This lets us know where we need to improve as a government.”
He concluded with a light-hearted comment, congratulating the station and asking its administration to ask him once more when it turns 50.
Beyond broadcasting: Valuable occasion and rental services
Beyond its core broadcasting tasks, Lagos Television additionally manages a portfolio of occasion services that contribute to its industrial actions and supply venues for private and non-private engagements.
These embody six halls and occasion areas: De-Blue Roof, Combo Hall, Hall 1, Hall 2, Arena A and B, and the BOS Hall. The services cater to a variety of occasions and features, supporting the station’s efforts to diversify its income streams past standard broadcasting.
With the help of the Lagos State Government, the administration continues to keep up and place these services to draw occasion organisers, company organisations and different stakeholders.
The services symbolize an vital part of LTV’s broader industrial potential, notably as public broadcasters discover sustainable methods to finance operations, modernise infrastructure and enhance service supply.
The General Manager speaks
Reflecting on the station’s 46-year journey, the General Manager, Mr Kayode Oyekanmi, described it as one marked by nice expectations, vital achievements and difficult intervals. Nevertheless, he stated LTV remained a legacy broadcast establishment with a unbroken function in Lagos State’s media panorama.
Oyekanmi famous that the Lagos State Government, underneath Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had invested considerably in upgrading the station’s infrastructure and equipping it to compete extra successfully with different tv stations in Nigeria.
“It’s been a tough journey, particularly if you recognise that we now have intense competition among Television Broadcast Stations across Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, coupled with some of the limitations you sometimes find in state-owned organisations,” he stated.
“I’ll say that Lagos Television is doing creditably nicely and has accomplished so over the final 46 years. It has been a journey of nice affect. If you ask any of our ardent viewers, particularly these inside the communities in Lagos State, you’ll agree with me that the affect of Lagos Television continues to be felt throughout the 5 divisions of Lagos State.
“Having said that, since my assumption of duty as the General Manager, we have committed ourselves to see how well we can reposition Lagos Television within the context of the intense competition in the electronic media sector to ensure that Lagos Television remains a force to reckon with.”
According to him, the administration has launched new operational priorities and is constructing on the foundations laid in earlier years to create new programme contents, develop the station’s attain and enhance free entry to its content material.
He defined that the state authorities had invested in the improve of the stations constructing infrastructure, new transformers and antenna installations to strengthen terrestrial transmission and allow extra residents to entry LTV with out relying solely on paid streaming platforms.
“Under our leadership, we have been able to lay certain new ground rules, and we are trying to build on what we have laid in the past few months. We are trying to see how we can expand our reach to more viewers within and outside the state,” he stated.
“The Lagos State Government has been very magnanimous in investing closely in the improve of our constructing infrastructure, new transformers and the set up of recent antennas that can give us leverage to broadcast on the free-to-air channel to each citizen in Lagos State.
“What that means is that we do not have to rely solely on paid streaming platforms before Lagosians can access information via the Lagos Television platform.”
The deliberate strengthening of its free-to-air presence is critical for a public broadcaster whose mandate consists of guaranteeing that info and public-interest programming stay accessible to residents throughout the state.
Taking LTV into the digital future
Recognising the altering habits of media shoppers, the station has additionally begun to reposition its digital operations to achieve audiences who more and more entry information and leisure by means of smartphones, computer systems and social media platforms.
Oyekanmi disclosed that LTV’s Social Media Department had been re-engineered and renamed Lagos Television Digital Service, reflecting the administration’s intention to develop the station’s digital footprint and discover new alternatives for content material distribution.
“Through this subsidiary of Lagos Television, we are now doing what other international broadcast stations do, such as streaming our content live on YouTube and other social media platforms,” he stated.
The initiative represents an vital step in direction of extending LTV’s attain past standard broadcasting, notably amongst youthful audiences and Lagos residents residing outdoors the state.
Digital distribution additionally presents alternatives to enhance viewers engagement, make archival content material extra accessible and develop new industrial potentialities. Sustaining this transition, nevertheless, would require constant content material supply, efficient viewers engagement and a transparent technique for rising digital platforms.
Investing in the subsequent technology
Beyond its efforts to enhance broadcasting and digital companies, LTV can be wanting in direction of the future by investing in younger expertise.
Oyekanmi stated the administration has additionally established the Lagos Television Broadcast and Media Academy, a structured coaching platform for interns, corps members and the station’s workers.
The proposed academy is meant to supply structured sensible coaching alternatives for college kids in mass communication, promoting, public relations and different associated disciplines, serving to them purchase the abilities and expertise required to thrive in Nigeria’s inventive and media industries.
“In addition, we have realised that if we are to reposition Lagos Television for the future, we have to look back in time and engage with the younger generation within Lagos communities. That is why we established the Lagos Television Broadcast and Media Academy,” he stated.
Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, he stated the station had historically accommodated about 30 interns per internship season earlier than his assumption of workplace. The quantity has since elevated significantly.
“Right now, we have close to 250 of them who are going through rigorous training within the Lagos Television structure, and we hope to unleash this mass of young and creative minds into our creative space in Nigeria,” he stated.
He added that the initiative would allow the station to contribute not solely to public info and leisure but additionally to the skilled improvement of younger Nigerians in search of careers in broadcasting and associated fields.
If successfully developed and sustained, the academy may strengthen LTV’s contribution to media capacity-building whereas making a pipeline of expert expertise for the wider inventive trade.
A particular anniversary reward to Lagosians
As a part of the station’s anniversary plans, Oyekanmi recognized the growth of its terrestrial broadcasting presence as one among the main highlights of the celebration.
He stated the initiative was supposed to revive the degree of accessibility that when made Lagos Television a first-choice station for a lot of households throughout the state.
“[The initiative] will give unhindered access to all our teeming viewers and be our special gift to all Lagosians during our 46th anniversary celebrations,” he stated.
The emphasis on accessibility speaks to the enduring tasks of a state-owned broadcaster. While competitors for audiences has intensified with the proliferation of personal tv stations and digital platforms, LTV’s public-service mandate stays central to its identification.
Its potential to fulfil that mandate will rely not solely on improved transmission and infrastructure but additionally on the high quality, credibility and relevance of its programming, in addition to its capability to adapt to altering viewers expectations.
Building on a long-lasting legacy
Forty-six years after it first went on air, Lagos Television stands at a big level in its historical past. Its legacy is rooted in many years of broadcasting, public info, leisure and cultural illustration. Its future, nevertheless, can be formed by how successfully it combines that heritage with innovation, digital growth, skilled improvement and sustainable income technology.
The investments in infrastructure, the drive to enhance terrestrial entry, the reorganisation of digital operations and plans for a broadcast academy level in direction of a broader effort to reposition the station for a altering media atmosphere.
For LTV, the process is to protect the belief and recognition constructed over generations whereas delivering content material that speaks to modern audiences in Lagos and past.
As the station celebrates its forty sixth anniversary, sustaining its legacy would require continued funding, institutional dedication, creativity and a willingness to evolve. With these components in place, Lagos Television can strengthen its function as a reputable public broadcaster and proceed to inform the tales of Lagos to the world.
Bukola Bakare is Personal Assistant to the General Manager, Lagos Television.
