adminMelissa Mpofu and Sibhekisipho Fayayo
Producers and artistes have expressed mixed feelings over ZBCtv’s call for production concepts with producers saying it is not worthwhile whereas artistes believe it is a good opportunity for exposure.ZBCtv is inviting individuals and production houses in film to submit concepts in all genres and are also looking to buy finished programmes and films.
Some producers seemed reluctant to submit their content, saying they found it difficult to do business with ZBC because of poor remuneration.
“Producing an episode costs over $1,000 but ZBC offers us slightly over $100 per episode which is not commercially viable. Sending content to ZBC is the last thing I’ll do as it’s not worth it,” said Bulawayo Swagg producer, Trevor Ncube.
He suggested that if ZBC wanted to attract producers, it needed to cut down on its excessive regulations.
“ZBC doesn’t allow product placement in anything be it films or videos, yet it’s a potential income generator for producers,” Ncube said.
Producers of the popular Bulawayo Show comedy strips concurred with Ncube saying they had challenges with payment by the national broadcaster.
“The national broadcaster has a noble idea but, the question is, are they willing to pay for the content? There’re many producers in Bulawayo but their fear is they won’t get the money they would’ve used to produce the programmes back as ZBC doesn’t pay much,” Bulawayo Show executive producer Zenzele Ndebele said.
But Iyasa director Nkululeko Innocent Dube welcomed ZBC’s call saying it was a noble idea which might make the television station compete with South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
“If they can go through with the idea and ensure that it’s not just a massive collection of dead material and unprofessional content, then it’s a noble idea.
“ZBC needs to compete with the likes of SABC who have swallowed ZBC’s consumers and literally crippled the local creative sector. It’s an enormous task that the broadcaster must not take for granted,” said Dube.
He said this was a step in the right direction as artistes would also get the much deserved exposure.
“Our local artistes need that kind of exposure, but the content has to appeal to the end consumers, who’re the viewers, to yield required results, failure to which could just prove to be a futile exercise.”
Standup comedian Clive Chigubhu, though he welcomed the initiative, expressed strong reservations on the exercise.
“It’s a good move by ZBC as we’ll have jobs and gain the necessary mileage. It’ll also attract viewers back to the station as there’ll be lots of programmes to look forward to.
“However, I’ve serious doubts on the genuineness of the exercise as such advertisements have been flighted before with our concepts getting unfavourable replies, yet they’re one of the best,” said Chigubhu.
Amakhosi Cultural Centre Director Cont Mhlanga described the process as wishful-thinking. Mhlanga is confident the process won’t yield desired results.
“They always do that and no results have been coming forth. Their in-house producers aren’t able to produce content because of lack of a meaningful budget outline, so how are they going to fund external producers?” quizzed Mhlanga.
He also believes the process procedures are laden with irregularities and spell doom for the broadcaster.
“The current ZBC board are in danger of repeating the same mistakes done by the previous board. You don’t just wake up and call for concepts, there’re processes and procedures to follow, or else nothing will come out of this idea. The death of Ztv has brought the death of film and arts industry in the country.
“They should specify exactly what they’re looking for and commission external editors before personally contacting their external production partners, whom they believe can attract viewers and advertisements. Otherwise there’s no hope in the current call,” said Mhlanga.
Some viewers welcomed ZBC’s move saying they had lost faith in the national broadcaster because of their boring programmes and repeats.
“I stopped watching ZBC years ago as their programmes are just boring. They also repeat programmes such as National Ethos which is very irritating,” Tinotenda Nkosi from Nkulumane said.
Another viewer, Lihle Dube, said she preferred subscribing to DStv which offers a wide range of channels.
“I tried following Starbrite on ZBC and figured sometimes it would not be broadcast at its scheduled time. Up to today, the finals haven’t been held, yet a similar South African programme, Idols, was held in under three months.
“I hope ZBC gets the content they’re looking for because Zimbabweans are a talented lot, yet the Zimbabwean story is not being fully told through film,” Dube said.
As a result of ZBC’s failure to sufficiently pay producers and poor viewership, most film producers have resorted to taking their products online.
A lot of Zimbabwean productions, especially lifestyle shows including Bulawayo Swagg, Scripted, Nafuna TV, Bulawayo Show, Kingsville and Teapot Zimbabwe have settled for online television, mostly targeting audiences in the diaspora.
“We found that it was difficult to get our content onto the national platform so we found other ways of getting our content out there. Online TV is actually more rewarding as we now have viewers from as far as the UK,” said Ncube, Bulawayo Swagg producer.
Online Reporter