Guyana’s broadcast landscape explained — licensing, zones and why local stations matter

Most people never think about how a radio station is allowed to exist. It matters more than it sounds — the rules decide how many stations a country has, where they can broadcast, and whether a place like Berbice gets its own voice or receives someone else’s.

Here is how broadcasting actually works in Guyana, in plain language.

Who is in charge

Two bodies, with a clean division between them.

The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) handles broadcasting — who gets a licence, what classes of licence exist, and the content rules. It was established by the Broadcasting Act 2011 and formally came into being on 28 August 2012. Under section 17 of the Act it is “responsible for the regulation, supervision and development of national broadcasting, including private, public and community broadcasting.”

The Telecommunications Agency handles spectrum — the actual frequencies. It was established by the Telecommunications Act 2016, and section 44 gives it the job of managing and allocating spectrum, including for broadcasting. Section 90 of that Act makes the split explicit: the Telecommunications Act does not apply to the content of any broadcasting service.

The old National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) was dissolved by the 2016 Act, its functions passing to the Agency from 10 May 2019.

The two are interlocked. Section 25 of the Broadcasting Act says a broadcasting licence does not relieve you of the need for a frequency licence — and that the Authority shall not grant a broadcasting licence unless the frequency regulator has no objection and has allocated a frequency. You cannot get on air by satisfying one regulator; you need both, in sequence.

What kinds of licence exist

This is where a common misconception needs clearing up.

The classes of licence are Commercial, Non-Commercial and Community. GNBA’s application form asks you to state which one you are applying for, alongside the type — radio (sound) or television — and the method: over the air, cable, or satellite. If it is over the air, you say whether it is free-to-air or subscription.

Licences may be issued for terms not exceeding ten years, under section 18 of the Act, with renewals on the same basis.

A community licence works differently: it is granted to a trust managed by a board elected from the community it serves, it cannot be held by anyone already holding a commercial licence, and it runs for one year at a time, renewable.

Zones — the part that shapes everything

What people sometimes call “primary” and “secondary” licences are not classes at all. They are geographic zones, and they determine both your coverage and your fee.

• Primary Zone — the Municipality of Georgetown, Region 3 up to the Essequibo River, all of Region 4, and Region 5 east to the Abary River.
• Secondary Zone 1 — Regions 1 and 2, and the Essequibo Islands part of Region 3.
• Secondary Zone 2 — Bartica.
• Secondary Zone 3 — all of Region 6, including New Amsterdam, and Region 5 west of New Amsterdam to the Abary River.
• Secondary Zone 4 — Region 10, including Linden.
• Tertiary Zones 1–3 — Region 9 (including Lethem), Region 8 (including Mahdia), and Region 7 excluding Bartica.

Little Rock’s stations sit in Secondary Zone 3. GNBA’s published list of broadcasters records Little Rock Television Station Inc. (Channel 10 in New Amsterdam and Channel 16 on the Corentyne) and Little Rock Radio Station Inc. (88.5 FM), both in Secondary Zone 3, at Vryman’s Erven.

What it costs to be a broadcaster

The fees are published, and they explain a great deal about the shape of the industry. The application processing fee is G$50,000 for radio and G$25,000 for television or cable. The annual fee is a base figure by zone — or 3.5% of the previous year’s gross revenue, whichever is greater:

Tertiary zones are half the secondary figure again. A licensee operating in multiple zones pays either 3.5% of gross revenue or the sum of the base fees for each zone — whichever is greater.

Read those numbers next to the size of a regional advertising market and you understand why there are not more local stations. A Berbice radio station pays a seven-figure annual fee before selling a single advertisement.

How many broadcasters there are

GNBA’s most recent published list, dated 19 June 2024, records:

• 23 television broadcasters
• 22 radio broadcasters
• 7 cable broadcasters

The number of companies is smaller, because several groups hold licences in more than one category. For a country of 878,674 people at the 2022 census that is a crowded dial — but the great majority of it sits in the Primary Zone around Georgetown.

Ownership: the 25% rule

Section 19 of the Act sets the broadcasting policy, and one line in it does most of the work: “no one person can own and or control more than 25 per cent of the broadcasting sector.” The same section requires effective Guyanese ownership and control, extending to CARICOM nationals on a reciprocal basis.

That single provision is why Guyana does not have a broadcasting sector owned by one family or one conglomerate — and it is why independent regional operators are legally protected in a way they are not in many countries.

Local content — get this right

You will hear that Guyanese broadcasters must carry 10% local content. That is a guideline, not a law, and the distinction matters.

The Broadcasting Act itself sets no quota. Section 24(2)(d) merely requires the Authority, when considering an application, to have regard to the programmes proposed and what percentage of them will be produced in Guyana, in CARICOM countries, in the region and beyond. No figure is set.

The 10% figure comes from GNBA’s Guidelines for Broadcasters, which exist “pending the development of Regulations under the Act.” Those guidelines say at least 10% of broadcast time should be dedicated to local productions, and that Guyanese music should constitute a minimum of 5% of all music in any week. The word throughout is should, not shall.

It is also separate from Guyana’s Local Content Act 2021, which is petroleum legislation and has nothing to do with broadcasting. The two are frequently confused.

Public service airtime

The Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2017 — passed on 4 August 2017 and assented to on 7 September 2017 — introduced a requirement that every broadcasting agency carry public service programmes for up to sixty minutes a day, between 06:00 and 22:00, free of cost. Licensees file either a fixed schedule or a rotation of the slots they set aside.

This was the most contested provision in the amendment; the Guyana Press Association argued it gave the state undue influence over programming. The underlying power is older and broader: the 2011 Act already allowed the Authority to require licensees to carry Civil Defence Commission, police, fire service and health programming at no cost.

Why a regional station is not a small national one

A national broadcaster in the Primary Zone reaches the largest audience and the largest advertising market, and covers Berbice, if at all, as a place it occasionally reports about. A Secondary Zone 3 licensee reaches fewer people — and reports on them from inside.

That difference shows up in what gets covered. A flooded street in Angoy’s Avenue, a school prize-giving in Canje, a council meeting in New Amsterdam, a death in the family — none of these will lead a national bulletin, and all of them are news to the people they happen to.

It also shows up in access. A regional station is reachable: you can telephone it, walk into it, and be on it.

In short

Broadcasting in Guyana is licensed by the GNBA under the Broadcasting Act 2011, on frequencies allocated by the Telecommunications Agency, in classes and zones, for terms of up to ten years, at published fees that are substantial for a regional operator — and no one may control more than a quarter of the sector.

Within that framework, LRTVS Channel 10 and Channel 16 and 88.5 Rock FM hold Secondary Zone 3 licences and broadcast to Berbice from New Amsterdam. How the newsroom uses that is described in our guide to how a small TV newsroom works.

Rules change. The figures and provisions above are as published by the GNBA and in the statutes cited at the foot of this page; check the GNBA website for the current position before relying on any of it.