AMP goes to war with G65 TV

FOR airing a Nollywood film without permission of its coryright owner, Ketu based television station; G65 has incurred the wrath of the Association of Movie Producers [AMP], who has threatened to make a good example with the station by ensuring that it is shut down.

Speaking to Citytracker concerning the unfolding scenario, Mr. Sam Azubuike, producer of “Pains of womanhood”, the film in question, almost shed tears, explaining his loss. He revealed that the station neither sought his verbal nor written permission before the film was aired.

“Pains of womanhood”, a movie that extensively showcased the travails of the African woman starred Nollywood stars like Zack Orji, Ngozi Ezeonu and others. It was marketed by Chuks Anyiam & Associates, an Idumota based movie marketer.

In his remark about this unfortunate development, Mr. Paul Obazele, president of AMP described G65 as just one of the many guilty television stations in Nigeria who air Nollywood films without permission.
“This has to stop”, he intoned.
“We criticize Multichoice for paying us peanuts to buy over our film; meanwhile our own television stations pay nothing for same.

“How would Nollywood grow, if Nigerian stations that are now noted for raking in billions of naira from commercials can not support us?
On the Association's moves to stop this trend he said: “We are going to use G65 as a scapegoat. I have been praying for this day to come. By the time they finish paying the penalty for this infringement of our member's rights, they will know that we mean business”, he concluded.

The movie according to Citytracker investigations was aired on the station on Thursday, July 10, 2008, between the hours of 12:00 and 4:00 pm.

When Citytracker put a call across to the station for confirmation, a source who attended to him begged to be kept out of the issue.

Other efforts made to see the director of programmes of the station proved abortive