Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday unveiled the Liberty Television Digital Studios and the 103.3 FM Abuja Radio Digital Studio.
Liberty TV and 103.3 FM are owned by Atar Communications Nigeria Limited.
Performing the inauguration, Osinbajo said he felt honoured as it was a great thing to be associated with excellence, with high achievement and with vision and farsightedness.
“This is what we see in the trajectory of the Atar Communications led by Dr Tijjani Ramalan since the company commenced operations as far back as 2012.
“Over the years, they have expanded into many parts of Nigeria, being one of the fastest growing in terms of coverage in both rural and urban areas.
“Liberty TV is already rated among the top ten in Nigeria; the station now reaches plateau, Osun, Kaduna , kwara and the FCT.”
The vice president said that he was proud because his brother and friend, Ramalan, founder and Chair of Atar Communications was making waves.
He said that Ramalan was his classmate from form I in secondary school.
The vice president said that the event was auspicious occasion because it was a historic day in broadcasting in Nigeria.
“On the Oct.31, 1959, WNTV was commissioned by chief Obafemi Awolowo in Ibadan .
“The first in Africa; we celebrate 60 years of that epochal event.
“So, it is now my special pleasure to commission this visionary achievement–the liberty television Abuja digital studios and the 103. 3FM Abuja radio digital studio.
Earlier in his welcome address, Ramalan said that Liberty TV came into National, Regional and International Broadcast Industry in 2014.
He said it was a private and independent news, current affairs and infotainment channel that has carved a broad audience base in Nigeria especially among Hausa speaking audience across Northern Nigeria, West and Central Africa.
He said that Liberty TV broadcast in English 30 per cent and Hausa 70 per cent and also on multiple media platforms.
Ramalan listed the platforms as Startimes Channel 180, GoTV Channel 110, NBC Free TV Channel 601, NBC FreeTV Channel 775, Nigcomsat(FTA), SES(FTA) and universal streaming on www.libertytvradio.com and live streaming on Liberty TV Facebook and on Youtube.
“Your Excellency, due to some requests from our viewers in Nigeria, West and Central Africa and on the only private Northern Nigeria indigenous news current affairs and infotainment station, we have made several efforts to Multichoice Nigeria to be considered on DSTV bouquet with no success.
“Sir, we solicit for your kind intervention in this regard.
“The success story of Liberty TV has brought us to where we are today with two digital studios in Abuja as a National Centre; these studios have the capacity for live transmission with well equipped latest version Up-Link, tricaster, server, storage and Live-U transmit server.
“We also transmit from the Kaduna studio being our regional centre with same facilities.
“Liberty TV now has bureau offices in Lagos, Kano, Yola, Enugu and Port Harcourt with correspondents in 26 states of the federation including Niger Republic, Sudan, Ghana and Cameroon.
“The Liberty Media Group has now become an industry breeding ground in Northern Nigeria creating hundreds of jobs for the youth around the country and has since become a platform for nurturing young talents for career progression.’’
He said that Liberty TV was the only private Northern based TV Channel on the Federal Government Free TV Digital Switch Over (DSO) National Platform.
Ramalan said that the current Media Planning Services (MPS) Industry data showed that Liberty TV was the number one news, current affairs and infotainment TV channel in Northern Nigeria and ranked among the top 10 TV channels in Nigeria by audience share.
He said that the firm launched in 2015, Liberty Radio(Tashar `Yanci) 103.1 FM, Kaduna, a 100 per cent 24 hours Hausa FM radio, which is rated the number one in Hausa FM stations in Kaduna state.
“It is vastly embraced as the leader of the pack in Hausa news, current affairs and politics in Kaduna state and Northern Nigeria.
“Our Partnership with the BBC Hausa Service has attracted Tashar `Yanci 103.1 FM to a global audience measure which stands at 372 million every week.
“2019 gave birth to Liberty Radio(Tasha `Yanci) 103.3 FM Abuja which is now active in Abuja air waves,’’ he said.
