What is next about NXT radio?
We are Uganda’s first audio-visual station. We are changing how radio is normally consumed by giving options to the listener because now we can also get the viewer. That is the point of difference between what we are and what everybody else is doing on the market.
Many people have said that you’re doing the same old thing. Where is the fresh stuff you promised us?
The fact that you can have a live band in studio. It changes everything. If two people are about to fight in studio, old radio would only allow you theatre of the mind. Here, you tune and see for yourself.
But isn’t Spark TV doing the same on the morning show on Ddembe FM?
Well, what I know for a fact is this is without a doubt, we are the first of our kind. I know we are the second in the region but we are the first in Uganda for sure because this is an inbuilt mechanism. Ours is real time. As soon as the microphones are switched on, so are the cameras.
Let’s talk about your content. Aren’t you just riding on NBS TV’s back?
Obviously what makes a station or show different is content and because of the fact that we are part of the bigger group of Next Media Services, we have been fortunate enough to have a lot of content because of NBS.
But it is one thing to have content and another thing to make it relevant so we have gotten a team of people and trained them to get this content out in a different way. Remember, sometimes it is not about what you say, but how you say it.
You have a great team, plenty of content, why then are you still giving consumers the same old stuff we find on normal radio?
The truth of the matter is that radio worldwide, topics are the same. Why? Because the challenges are the same. We all fight without spouses, cheat, and love or hate politics, football, money etc. The topics will remain the same but it is how we deliver them that changes.
How did you put your team together? From the presenter lineup, you basically called guys out of retirement. You see when you’re building a team, it is important to have a mix of old and new. You can’t have only new because they give you way too much work in training so the old are here to train the young to take over. When a coach is putting together a football team, you will see like three legends. I have a presenter pool of 11 – only four are old. The rest are new.
You told us you retired from radio, what happened?
One of the reasons why I came back was to be part of what I consider the station that is going to change radio as we know it but also to be able to do all the things that I had been keeping in mind.
With over 20 years of radio experience in three different countries, I have so much I can offer and being at the helm of a radio station allows me to give that. I said if we are to completely change radio, let’s change it.
It is visual, creative and as long as we don’t break UCC rules, we shall give people a whole new experience. That made me come out of retirement!
