SECTOR 3 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓ ✓ 1.8 2005: n/a; 2007: n/a; 2009: n/a; 2011: n/a; 2015: 1.9 3.6 The state/public broadcaster is adequately funded in a manner that protects it from political interference through its budget and from commercial pressure NBC has three main sources of income, namely a government subsidy allocated through the national budget, TV licence fees and advertising. The broadcaster also receives income through the hiring out of transmitters. Panellists argued that this income, however, is either insufficient for meeting the high costs of running the national broadcaster or is simply managed poorly. ‘NBC has enough money to be able to carry out its operations, but it doesn’t have systems in place to get their revenues right.’ ‘NBC is underfunded, but the expectations on it are those of a profit-making entity. NBC is like a social institution though, in terms of these expectations.’ Most of the funds that come to the broadcaster via the national budget vote go towards the payment of salaries. Furthermore, a large part of the NBC’s budget goes to live broadcasts, covering parliament, state events and conferences, and providing coverage of state funerals. ‘A live broadcast costs millions!’ Revenue collection from TV licence fees is said to have decreased significantly over the past two years, despite the NBC teaming up with the police at one point in a bid to threaten the Namibian public with arrest if they did not pay their licence fees. Panellists noted that the state broadcaster missed several opportunities to streamline this system to provide for a more efficient collection mechanism, including with the introduction of NBC decoders – for which 40% were funded through the now defunct SME Bank (although NBC is available on other bouquets). With regards to advertising, ‘There are no regulations with respect to how much NBC can get from commercial advertising.’ The broadcaster’s main advertisers 43 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NAMIBIA 2018