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Trust Freddy-Herald Correspondent
A new television station, Nkululeko Rusununguko Television (NRTV), is set to go on air at the beginning of next month as Zimbabwe forges ahead with opening of the airwaves.
This follows the successful launch of 14 community radio stations with three free-to-air commercial television stations already operational.
Speaking during a familiarisation tour of the recently licenced NRTV, Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services Kindness Paradza said the nation was on course to a new exciting era in information access and dissemination.
“What we have done as a ministry, we have given licences to six commercial television stations and this is one of them. So far, four of them are up. We are waiting for the other two to be on air.
“This is an addition to the 14 community radio stations we have given licences so far and our hope is that after all these six television stations are on air, we are also going to give community television licences so that we have communities having their own licences around the country,” Paradza said.
Licencing of use of airways is required as frequencies and bands have to be allocated, and there are only a limited number of these in each country. Print and internet news services can be unlimited in number.
“Zimbabweans will have a variety of content: programming, current affairs, news and so forth. You are aware that we were first to have the first television station in 1956 but we were overtaken by other countries in the region, but we are now in a marathon because we catch up as a ministry.”
The Deputy Minister also described the coming of new stations as a huge opportunity for content creators.
This development effectively frees the airwaves, with private television stations joining private radio stations as the Second Republic implements a raft of political, economic and social reforms to make Zimbabwe an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
The licensing of six free-to-air private television stations ended the 64-year monopoly enjoyed by the State-owned broadcaster.
NRTV general manager Mr Tichafa Matambanadzo said Zimbabwe was truly on the verge of a new age in content creation and information dissemination.
“NRTV is taking the bold step of entering a broadcasting landscape at an exciting time when the digital arena is becoming more competitive every day, thus challenging broadcasters to rise to the occasion and deliver or sink into oblivion,”he said.
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Engineer Tendai Kapumha said they have since acquired the necessary equipment to ensure that the country uses the digital terrestrial technology.
The drive to continually open and expand the media environment continues as the Second Republic remains determined to create a conducive operating space for media practitioners while also allowing newcomers access.
The first private television station, 3KTV, went live on air in February last year while ZTN Prime followed in May and both use MultiChoice Digital Satellite Television (DStv) platform.
Owing to limited resources, ZBC could not absorb all the television content created in the country, which forced many creatives to rely on the internet-based video platform, YouTube, to showcase their works.
The coming in of other television stations has provided more platforms for creatives to showcase their work and earn some money frrom their sweat.
Online Reporter