Assessment of Nigerian International Broadcasting by Nigerians in Diaspora

Abstract

International broadcasting is projecting an image of the country of broadcast to an external audience. The external audience comprise not just foreigners but also citizens of the host country who reside outside that country. The question then is, to what extent are Nigerian international broadcasters satisfying their country’s citizens who reside in the Diaspora? This study sought to find out the assessment of Nigeria’s international broadcasting by her expatriates; that is her citizens living abroad.

The survey methodology was employed in this research. The technique was purposive as only the responses of Nigerians who respond in the diaspora were sought. Questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collection. The questionnaire was uploaded online via the survey monkey for Nigerians residing in the Diaspora to respond to. There were 159 respondents but only 150 completely filled their questionnaires; these were analyzed for this research. Findings showed that majority of respondents (66.67) watch Nigerian international broadcasters on weekends, and most people (27%) watch news probably to keep abreast with happenings back home. About a third (37%) of the respondents watch Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) International and 53.3% assessed the programme quality as poor especially the pictures which are adjudged as lacking in professionalism. However, the respondents considered the information received from the stations they watch as credible. It is recommended that there should be improvement in the standard of professionalism of presenters so as to make the programmes more appealing to viewers as presentation is the window to the world. Funding is another crucial issue. When funds are available, programmes will be packaged better and more professionals will be employed to engender more viewership from the Diaspora.

Keywords: International broadcasting, external audience, International broadcasters, Expatriates