SECTOR 3

rest of the operators in the audio-visual sector function under administrative
tolerance - a loosely defined concept that leaves them at the mercy of public
officials.
Public broadcasting is regulated separately from private broadcasting. Overall,
actors in the broadcasting industry posit that the country’s audio-visual laws
favour the public broadcaster to the detriment of private broadcasters. The cost
of the different categories of licenses is considered exorbitant and prohibitive. In
the absence of licenses, “broadcasters are perpetually operating in some sort of
illegality.” According to most panellists, the government charges high licence fees
and makes the issuance of licenses difficult in order to control the development
of the audio-visual sector.
Many different agencies also intervene in the regulation of the audio-visual sector,
making things complex. The Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of Post
and Telecommunications, the National Communication Council and the interministerial committee for audio-visual broadcast licensing all play a role in the
sector.
Currently Cameroon has no law directly addressing community broadcasting.
Often, non-commercial broadcasters pass for community radio stations.
Because the climate is considered harsh, some TV stations owned by Cameroonians
operate from other countries, but beam their signals into Cameroon. Examples
include Vox Africa and Tele Sud, based in the UK and France respectively.

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:

3.1 (2008=3.0; 2011=4.0)

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2014

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