The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation's Director General, Stanley Similo, says the national broadcaster is ready to provide coverage of the memorial and funeral services of the late President Hage Geingob.
Similo made this remark during an update on the national broadcaster's readiness for the memorial and funeral services.
The Director-General says he has confidence in his teams and is positive that the national broadcaster will successfully cover the events.
"On Saturday, it is a confident event that we have comfort with, as everything is under control. The one we have put extra work into is Sunday, where the actual funeral will take place, as there is a procession from Sam Nujoma stadium to Heroes' Acre. Part of what we have been doing is creating a floor plan idea, which we have plotted to ensure that as we proceed to the final resting place, we will have a presence in the studio, at all airports, at Cars and Independence, and along the way as we move around Heroes' Acre. Therefore, we need that seamless narration to proceed."
He mentioned that all radio stations will also air all events unfolding from Friday to Sunday live.
Similo also added that NBC will collaborate with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and other local media entities to ensure full coverage.
"I have met with the main teams, particularly for Saturday and Sunday, where MICT is involved and they have equipment. Let's conduct checks so that we can capture the overall national sentiment. We are also in talks with the NMH group, given that the matter concerning the late President concerns everyone; we felt it necessary to collaborate with private sector media houses."
He revealed that NBC is working with MultiChoice to provide coverage signals across Africa.
"Within the region, all the countries with MultiChoice, on Saturday and Sunday, we will open up signals via DSTV MultiChoice within SADC and as far as Nigeria. For entities outside the footprint of MultiChoice, we are setting up a separate connection element, which will be announced on Thursday. We already have private stations in Africa and abroad inquiring, and all arrangements are currently in place, ensuring we can deliver."
This initiative is expected to increase the national broadcaster's viewership in the region.
"SADC's population is close to 250 million; therefore, if we consider an effective 30 percent of them watching, we are looking at 150 million viewers tuning in. The continental population number stands at 1.4 billion people, and if we consider the same percentage, we are looking at about 440 million people tuning in. Therefore, we estimate close to 500 million viewers watching NBC Plus and the YouTube stream."