Miracles on the tube

[Charlie in Dayton]

In a story broadcast on BBC World Service at approx 0420UTC 30 Apr, Nigerian television authorities have banned the broadcast of miracles that cannot be proven or are not believable. Television producers in Nigeria are somewhat confused, as there are no formal guidelines published yet, and the terminology of the announcement is open to wide interpretations. Moreso, the Nigerian government has said that enforcement of the statute begins immediately, even though no penalties have been established for those not complying.

(An attempt was made to find more source material for this story on the BBC website, but at time of posting none had been found. Any later-breaking contributions in support of this are welcomed, as are those conclusively poo-pooing it. )

[Charlie in Dayton]

In a later broadcast, the miracles must be "...provable and believable...", and the legislation is aimed at pentecostal-style broadcasts.
A Nigerian Broadcasting Company official was interviewed, and he was not in favor of the regulations. He views it as not NBC's business to review religious content. He's also concerned that this will financially impact independent stations.
BBC analysis said it was difficult to say what was behind the legislation, and why it was just now being enforced. Rumors abound, one being that the programs are being sensationally used to entice members of other religions from their respective faiths.

[Bjorn]

Originally posted by Charlie in Dayton
In a story broadcast on BBC World Service at approx 0420UTC 30 Apr, Nigerian television authorities have banned the broadcast of miracles that cannot be proven or are not believable. And in the US, we just aired the Larry King psychic show, neither proven nor believable ..... :(

Yeah, I love the freedom of speech. Even when it's ..... it's ..... whatever.