The Broadcasting Services Division is a branch of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Samoa that runs a radio station and a television channel. Radio National 2AP is the only left state media in Samoa, following the privatization of Samoa Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) in 2008. SBC’s television station was taken over through a public tender by Samoa Quality Broadcasting, a private business owned by former SBC employees. SBC was sold upon advice from the World Bank following years of losses that the broadcaster incurred at the time. TV9 is a television channel that the government approved in 2019.
Media assets
Radio: Radio National 2AP
Television: TV9
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Managed (ISM)
Ownership and governance
The Broadcasting Services Division is a government body attached to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Its main task is to run Radio National 2AP and TV9. Radio National 2AP was part of Samoa Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), the public service broadcaster of Samoa that was sold in 2008. At the time, the government decided to keep the radio channel, and a decade or so later, it added a television service.
Source of funding and budget
Radio National 2AP and TV9 are fully financed by the government through a budget dedicated to the Broadcasting Services Division of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
Editorial independence
Radio 2AP has a long history. Its early days of broadcasting can be traced back to 1947, when it was created as the first broadcaster in Samoa. Known as “the voice of the nation,” the station has a broad audience and is one of the most listened-to radio channels in the country. Since it was taken over by the government, however, the station has become a channel used to spread official messages of the government. The television channel provides a similar service as Radio 2AP, its mission being to inform the public about the government’s projects.
According to the Broadcasting Services Division’s website, the division has a statutory duty to provide “professional and ethical news stories and information.” The division’s media outlets follow the 2017 Samoa Media Code of Ethics, which media organizations across the country committed to complying with when it was adopted.
July 2024