The chairman of Brila Group, Dr. Larry Izamoje has given his verdict on contribution of sports radio to the development of sports initiatives in Nigeria at the maiden edition of the Sport Impact Africa held at The Zone in Gbagada, Lagos on Thursday.
The Sport Impact Africa, which is a two-day event, is an initiative of veteran sport journalist, Deji Omotoyinbo which focuses on ‘The Power or Sports Radio In Sports Development Initiative.’
“Sports radio keeps growing, it has failed to die and radio itself has failed to die. Anything and everything they have tried to create so as clear off radio has always failed, radio overpowers it and I will prove it here. With my phone I can play you Brila FM Port Harcourt that’s the power of radio,” Izamoje stated.
“Broadcasting sports on radio was first done in 1921 in Pitsburg, USA. And when they did that, people then said this thing can be enhanced. So if they can so it in USA why can’t we so it in Nigeria.”
“The role of sports radio is a format within radio and radio is within the larger media group. And you find that it is the same work but dressed in a different garment so you know you are called to do the same thing that media has been called to do and the thing sport radio do is to inform, to educate, to entertain.”
“We must educate, teach and know why should we go this way. Radio is a viable tool of dissemination information to a large heterogenous audience, so whatever they want to do, they have to being it to us to pass across to their target audience.”
“Basic function like information dissemination pertaining to education and entertainment. Like at Brila we just no longer do radio, we also do sportaiinment that is saying sports in the way that it will be entertaining. So we are talking entertainment and also serious sport.”
“With sports radio we engage the listener through interactivity, phones calls, phone in programmes. And in this days of the internets, these days of digital media and what we now call virtual radio, because radio has become the new TV, that’s why I said it is something they have tried to kill that have swallowed them up.”
“You would care to know why radio is very important and pertinent to me, it’s because it is the most penetrative means to the people, it’s cheap.”
