Zimbabwe State Broadcaster Announces New TV Channel Rollout in January

Chief Executive Officer Happison Muchechetere of the perennially strapped Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said the new channel will be commercially driven in that it will generate revenues from advertising

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Chief Executive Officer Happison Muchechetere has announced that the state broadcasting system will launch a new television channel in January that will be advertising-driven.



Muchechetere told ZBC-TV on Wednesday that while part of the state media empire, the new channel will be a commercial venture which will seek revenues from advertising to boost the perennially-broke state broadcaster.



The news comes as private media players wait for the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe to grant private-sector radio and television licences, ending the longstanding government monopoly in electronic media.



Though the power-sharing unity government has promised media reforms these have been slow in materializing. President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has meanwhile condemned radio broadcasts to Zimbabwe by VOA and others from outside the country, saying these violate Zimbabwean sovereignty.



Deputy Chairman Njabulo Ncube of the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Zimbabwe told VOA Studio 7 reporter Brenda Moyo that Zimbabweans want to see genuine media reforms which will open up the airwaves.

* VoA