ANALOG OR ALGORITHM : ASSESSING THE STATE OF BROADCAST CONTENT DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Despite intense competition from fast-proliferating digital media platforms in our rapidly evolving social media and Artificial Intelligence-driven world, content development practices in radio stations in South-East, Nigeria remain predominantly analog, traditional and conventional. Several studies suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in broadcasting can enhance the efficiency of production systems and reduce running costs thereby improving the viability and sustainability of broadcast stations. Anchored on the Disruptive Innovations theory and the TOE (Technology–Organisation–Environment) framework, this study evaluates current content development practices and the challenges of AI adoption in content development amongst radio stations in South-East, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to assess the current broadcast content development practices among South-East Nigerian radio stations and to identify institutional, organizational, and technological challenges hindering Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, with the goal of informing strategies for accelerated digital transformation. Mixed research design was adopted comprising quantitative (survey) and qualitative (Key Informant Interview – KII) methods. The population of the study composed of radio content creators from all the 63 state, federal and privately-owned radio stations, across the region. Chi-Square Test and thematic analysis were used to analyze data obtained from the study. Results indicated a significant relationship between current content development practices and persistent challenges including hesitancy, technological deficits, lack of staff training, and the absence of policy direction etc. Findings also suggested that although South-East radio stations utilise digital tools such as phones and computers, the predominant content development practice is still mainly analog, non-digital and conventional. With the rapid transformation of the broadcast industry by AI, its adoption by South-East radio stations is urgent.