Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC)

Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC)
About Us :

Vision
Sustainable world-class public broadcaster providing world class services.
Mission
To educate inform, guide and entertain the public through the provision of great services. It aims to achieve and sustain comprehensive national coverage. Above all it aims to achieve a common carrier status must be realized.

Brief on the Corporation
Uganda Television and Radio Uganda the current Uganda Broadcasting Corporation was born in 1963 one year after Uganda’s independence. It’s main aim was to broadcast through both mediums to the whole country.
After independence till the mid 1980’s Uganda was faced with a lot of economic hardships. As a result many institutions including the national broadcaster suffered a general deterioration.

It is with this background that the Ugandan Government saw the need to restructure the former Uganda Television and Radio Uganda.

As a result Parliament passed the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act that established the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation in 2005. This transformed the former UTV and Radio Uganda into the now existent Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. The Corporation started it’s activities on the 16th of November 2005.

The main aims of the Corporation are to develop the former Radio Uganda and UTV into a public national broadcasting center of excellence, for the purpose of providing electronic media and consultancy services that educate and guide the public. It also aims at achieving and sustaining comprehensive national radio and television coverage.

UBC still remains 100% owned by the Government although not 100% financed by it. The Corporation realizes it’s income from the sale of TV and Radio airtime and rental of it’s technical facilities. UBC’s move to attain a common carrier status will ensure issues of national importance transmitted as one so that other commercial broadcasters obtain their live link from UBC.

Management of UBC
A Board of Directors governs Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. The daily management of the Corporation is carried out by a Managing Director and the Corporation Secretary .The Managerial team coupled with experienced staff is commissioned to streamline the Corporation and put it on course to become an effective and more efficient public broadcaster in the short and long run. UBC Management tries to balance the Corporation’s public mandate with the commercial interests.

Main Activities
In terms of it’s main activities;
The Corporation ensures the provision of radio and television broadcasting services and programmes that contribute to the social, economic development of the people of Uganda.
We are a medium that showcases the vision of the public.
We gather, analyze, store and disseminate information to the public.
In the future we aim to carry out signal distribution as a common carrier.
UBC provides quality local programming and adapts foreign programming to the indigenous public.
We have established systems of accountability and ensure profitability in the running of the public broadcasting services.
We maintain a reasonable editorial independence and set exemplary national broadcasting standards.
UBC aims to provide electronic media and consultancy services that educate and guide the public.
We endeavor to be an efficient and self-sustaining Corporation at all times.
We aim to create a sustainable, comprehensive national radio and television coverage.
UBC has put in place some modern broadcasting equipment and good organizational structures that ensures our effectiveness.
The onus is on us to achieve and sustain reliable signals.
Our provision of events and programmes are always accurate timely and reliable.
We now carry out activities synonymous with any world-renowned public broadcaster.
UBC Milestones
Over the years since 1963 UBC has made the following strides:
The Corporations coverage through it’s TV and Radio reach almost all over Uganda.
UBC TV has also entered into a partnership with South African based DSTV that has seen the Corporation obtain a channel on it’s Cable Network. As a result UBC TV can now be viewed on the national service DSTV Channel 107.
The Corporation has also gone into partnership with the US based Internet TV Station Jump TV, that shall ensure that UBC TV’s local programmes will be aired live over the internet for those UBC TV viewers who are in the Diaspora and those who are multi media compliant.
The Chinese Government has extended a Grant to UBC TV that shall see the setting up of a second Television Channel and a radio channel in Jinja. This Grant shall hopefully be finalized by the end of this year.
UBC Radio on the other hand is one of the few remaining radio’s still broadcasting via medium and short wave. These systems still ensure that we can be received through Internet connection. The Japanese Government has been kind enough to grant UBC Radio a Medium Wave Technical Grant that shall see the improvement of these waves by making them stronger and clearer. This Grant shall be finalized by the end of the year.
With all other broadcasters in the world, UBC has up to 2015 to migrate from analogue to digital technology. This change over calls for a lot of preparation and financial resources. UBC has started the preparations to move to digital transmission by acquiring high brid transmission equipment.
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE NATIONAL BROADCASTER.
UBC today boasts of being one of the best media service providers in Uganda.
Our programmes both on television and radio continue to educate, inform and entertain. We now transmit to almost all parts of the country and at times even beyond our borders.

Not only has the national broadcaster obtained a new logo our catch phrase now boldly reads “UBC Uganda’s Most Preferred Network.”

In the years to come our public should expect UBC to grow from strength to strength whilst providing them with the best in media services.