{{Use Nigerian English|date=June 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2026}} {{Infobox television channel | name = NTA Lagos | logo = | logo_size = | logo_caption = | launch_date = {{start date|1962|4|1|df=y}} | picture_format = | network = | owner = Nigerian Television Authority | parent = | motto = | country = Nigeria | language = English, Yoruba | area = Lagos State | affiliates = | headquarters = Lagos, Nigeria | former_names = Nigerian Television Service (1962-1967)<br/>NBC-TV (1967-1977) | replaced = | replaced_by = | sister_channels = NTA2 | timeshift_service = | website = | terr_serv_1 = VHF | terr_chan_1 = Channel 10 (Lagos) | terr_serv_2 = | terr_chan_2 = | terr_serv_3 = | terr_chan_3 = | terr_serv_4 = | terr_chan_4 = | online_serv_1 = | online_chan_1 = | online_serv_2 = | online_chan_2 = | 3gmobile serv 1 = }} '''NTA Lagos''' is a Zonal Network Centre of the Nigerian Television Authority in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. It was established in 1962 as the first station under the federal government - all other television stations in Nigeria were set up under the individual state governments. NTA Lagos is one out of two centres that have two television stations, the NTA centre in Abuja, the federal capital, is the only other centre with such a structure.
==History== The Nigerian government set up the '''Nigerian Television Service''' (NTS) on 1 April 1962, the date of its first broadcast, becoming the fourth station in Nigeria overall, and the first to broadcast at a sub-regional level. Lagos did not become its own state until 1967.<ref name="UNT1981">{{cite web |title=TWENTY YEARS OF NIGERIAN TELEVISION: 1959-1979 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/71148648.pdf |access-date=6 January 2024 |website=University of North Texas|date=August 1981 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106141344/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/71148648.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> Similar to the other stations of the initial four, the federal government gave a five-year subcontracting agreement with NBC's international arm. An advertisement was published selecting staff members shortlisted from over ten thousand applications, including "one from a young man who hoped they would teach him how to be a tripod".<ref>Bower, Roger, "In Nigeria, Talent is Easiest Problem," Broadcasting, May, 1964, 106.</ref>
In 1963, federal government mandated the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (forerunner of the FRCN) to take control of the operations of the station once the contract with NBC International expired in 1967. The station was subsequently renamed '''NBC Television'''.<ref name="UNT1981" />
From its beginning, NTS was faced with a number of difficulties. It had one small studio (18 by 36 feet) and lacked adequate broadcasting equipment (launching with a daily one-hour schedule). The line-up consisted of local live shows, foreign films, newsreels and educational programming catered to be seen in schools.<ref name="UNT1981" />
Coverage was limited to Lagos, the smallest out of the initial stations, in opposition to WNTV's wider coverage,<ref>{{cite web |title=An Ethnographic Study of Women in a Nigerian Context |url=http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71333/1/10390937.pdf |access-date=12 January 2024 |website=University of Glasgow |date=1993 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529193523/http://theses.gla.ac.uk/71333/1/10390937.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> but its commercial activities were "rewarding". Subsequently, NTS/NBC had its signal seen in the entire Western Region.<ref name="UNT1981" /><ref>Nelson, Harold D., and others, Area Handbook for Nigeria, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1972.</ref>
With the establishment of the Nigerian Television Authority in 1977, Lagos became the headquarters of the network. The existing station was renamed NTA Lagos as a result. The measure was provisional as a move to Abuja was under the cards, as the city was still under construction at the time.<ref name="UNT1981" />
In the early 1980s, NTA Lagos installed a new transmitter in Tejuoso to improve its reception. This became NTA Ikeja, which eventually shut down in 2000.<ref name="UNT1981" /> 78% of the output was local. Signal overspill led to NTA Lagos being received in the states of Oyo, Kwara, Ondo, Bendel and Ogan, as well as the countries of Togo, Benin and Cameroon. At the time of being NTA's headquarters, it had the reputation for having the best staff, equipment and most powerful transmitters.<ref name="UNT1983">{{cite web |title=THE ROLE OF TELEVISION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504126/m2/1/high_res_d/1002775653-Onwumere.pdf |access-date=6 January 2024 |website=University of North Texas|date=August 1983 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106141854/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504126/m2/1/high_res_d/1002775653-Onwumere.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2024}}</ref><ref>Egbon, Michael I., "The Origin and Development of Television Broadcasting in Nigeria," unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1977.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Facebook|ntalagoschten|NTA Lagos Channel 10}} * {{Youtube|channel=UCX1tKvOXPXw7BiGsUtBNhzA|NTA Lagos Channel 10}}
{{Television in Nigeria}}
Category:Nigerian Television Authority Category:Television stations in Nigeria Category:Television channels and stations established in 1962 Category:1962 establishments in Nigeria