BON postpones TNBA, extends deadline for entries

Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), organisers of The Nigeria Broadcasting Awards (TNBA), have postponed the awards ceremony to April 2023 and extended deadline for the submission of entries into various award categories.

The decision was reached during a review meeting held on Tuesday October 18, 2022 between the Steering Committee, the Consulting firm, and BON Secretariat.

According to the committee, headed by Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce, President, Silverbird Group, the postponement became necessary in view of the number of broadcast professionals hindered from meeting the September 23 deadline for submission of entries by technology and courier companies.

The new deadline is January 15, 2023.

The statement reads: “We received 471 entries at expiration of the deadline for submission. But we kept receiving pleas for an extension.

“After considering the reasons given by prospective entrants, who could not meet the original deadline, we resolved to extend the deadline, so as to have a really competitive process and ensure that we do not marginalise people, whose bid to file entries were thwarted by poor Internet connectivity and delays by courier companies.

“We realised that both factors were beyond their control and felt it would be unfair to exclude them from the awards process on such bases. We have, therefore, extended the deadline to January 15, 2023.”

The Steering Committee also extended the time span of entries eligible for consideration by the judges’ committee, headed by Mr. Emeka Mba, former Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), to December 31, 2022.

This implies that entries must be original copies of work undertaken between August 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, as against the previously announced date of August 31, 2022.

Entries are also required to be accompanied by entrants’ resumes and are to be submitted either as an MP3 audio file for radio or an MP4 video file for TV.

TNBA, according to BON, is a platform for the recognition and celebration of professional excellence in the Nigerian broadcasting industry.

The award has 12 competitive categories in radio and television and is open to broadcast platforms licensed by NBC.