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The Commonwealth's Big Three Broadcasters are investing heavily in their free streaming platforms: Clockwise from top right, BBC iPlayer, ABC iView, BBC Sounds and CBC | Gem threatens a gaping digital divide between these richest organisations in Commonwealth broadcasting and public broadcasters in the Caribbean, none of which has even switched over to digital terrestrial transmission much less developed viable, free, standalone streaming platforms. |
Across an ever-evolving media landscape, the winds of change are blowing stronger than ever. The Commonwealth's Big Three broadcasters - the BBC, CBC Canada, and Australia's ABC - have boldly declared their accelerated shift towards an all-digital realm, leaving behind the analogue era of long-wave (LW), shortwave (SW) medium-wave (MW/AM), and very high frequency (FM/VHF/UHF) radio and television transmissions over the next decade.
Yet, nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in the Caribbean, where digital terrestrial radio and TV standards such as IBOC, Digital HD, or DRM have yet to find any footing. While the digital transformation sweeps across many parts of the world, starting in the industrialised North, the Caribbean region still relies on analogue broadcasting. This timebomb of a digital divide is ticking.
While the digital revolution may excite the tastebuds for online streaming, immersive apps, and enhanced connectivity, it simultaneously presents a formidable threat to the resource-strapped public/state broadcasters in Caribbean islands and coastal nations, particularly given the life-saving role of analogue radio for maritime and disaster communities.
Enter the Public Media Alliance (PMA), the worthy successor to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association - the largest global association of public media organisations. At the core of PMA's vision lies the aspiration for "a vibrant and independent public media sector that unites all Commonwealth citizens, allowing them to share their shared humanity." In this age of digital dominance, the PMA's mission calls for active support to help broadcasters navigate these transformative times, especially in regions like the Caribbean, where the need for digital transition is particularly pressing.
This is my brief sketch of a digital transformation Marshall Plan for public broadcasters in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions of the Commonwealth in which the Public Media Alliance can be a guiding light:
1. Guidance and Consultation for Digital Transition Planning: The journey from analogue to digital is no cakewalk. I know visionary Caribbean broadcast engineers, one in radio and the other in television who went to their graves still waiting on their superiors to flip the proverbial digital switch as they had long advocated. Apart from political and managerial will, the switchover requires intricate tasks such as infrastructure upgrades, licensing intricacies, and educating the public. Drawing upon the wisdom of esteemed members like CBC, the PMA can offer counsel on change management strategies, including the adoption of standards and the wisdom of extending broadcasting's value chain with additional services and benefits to audiences, not mere consumers. Constituencies that would stand to benefit immensely are marginalised segments of the population: children, seniors, people with disabilities and rural communities.
2. Fostering Collaborations for Open-Source Digital Solutions: Crafting locally relevant apps and digital asset management software comes at a cost. PMA's pivotal role is to connect members with shared needs, enabling them to pool resources - preferably for scalable, open-source tools, thereby slashing development expenses. Moreover, the PMA can serve as a conduit between broadcasters and fledgling media tech developers eager to contribute skills and resources to bolster digital capabilities.
3. Grants for Digital Infrastructure Enhancement: The digital leap often necessitates significant investments in equipment. To facilitate this transition, the PMA should establish a fund aimed at providing modest grants. These grants can empower developing members, including those in the Caribbean, to progressively upgrade their digital transmission capabilities, studio equipment, and more.
For many years, education among public broadcasters in the North has leapfrogged to MBA and MPA levels while the colonial-era trotting out of trainers to the tropics continued, even long after the region had evolved beyond the need for basic production and journalism training.
Beyond the former Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, the mission of cooperation remains with the Public Media Alliance to ensure that all its members can continue their public service missions amidst this whirlwind of change. Through training, collaborative partnerships, and judicious financial support, even broadcasters with modest resources can gracefully adapt to the digital wave, empowering themselves as worthy players in their nations' sustainable development and democratic guardians.
For too long, Caribbean broadcasters have been preoccupied with the management of decline rather than perceiving digitization as a splendid opportunity to become even more relevant to the populations they serve. Stronger, meaningful, programmatic collaboration and cooperation between the PMA and its partners will broaden access to indispensable public media services throughout the developing Commonwealth nations and regions like the Caribbean, where the digital transition has yet to begin and may not happen for some time long after the last analogue transmitter is powered down for good in the North.
The Public Media Alliance is entrusted with the solemn responsibility of ensuring that all its members can continue their public service missions amidst the digital age's whirlwind of change. Through training, collaborative partnerships, and judicious financial support, even broadcasters with modest resources can gracefully adapt to the digital wave. The PMA should perceive digitization not as a daunting obstacle, but as a splendid opportunity to broaden access to indispensable public media services throughout the developing Commonwealth nations.
- December 7, 2022 - BBC preparing to go online-only over next decade, says director general
- February 7, 2023 - CBC signals plans to go full streaming, ending traditional TV and radio broadcasts
- June 16, 2023 - ABC News announces digital transformation proposals