THE country’s leading independent national television station, 3Ktv, will celebrate its fourth anniversary of uninterrupted and hugely successful live broadcasting tomorrow.
Zweli Sibanda, the managing director of Jester Media Services’ (JMS) Broadcasting Division, told the Daily News yesterday that the private commercial station — which has lined up a number of celebratory events in Harare this weekend — was “continuing to go from strength to strength”.
“When JMS, the country’s only growing mainstream media group and Zimbabwe’s biggest independent media house by far, launched the nation’s first private television station on the 28th of February 2022, we never imagined then that we would witness the progress that we have made over the past four years.
“All this is notwithstanding Zimbabwe’s current difficult operating environment which has seen many industry peers facing significant challenges that are threatening their existence.
“To say, therefore, that we are excited about what the future holds for 3Ktv and our entire group is an understatement.
“We are confident that things will only get better going forward for the station and the rest of our other market-leading media assets that include the iconic Daily News, the Daily News On Sunday, Radio 3000 and The Financial Gazette, the country’s number one business publication,” Sibanda added.
“In the meantime, and to those businesses and organisations that are not yet fully au fait with 3Ktv, there are many advantages to joining hands with us and exposing your work and brands through the television station.
“Indeed, 3Ktv provides a powerful combination of mass reach, visual storytelling, unparalleled brand building capacity and remarkable affordability — allowing businesses to optimally create lasting impressions, connect emotionally with viewers and to achieve increased brand loyalty and sales.
“The station also gives our business partners and advertisers the ability to target specific audiences and demographics, which means that their messaging can be tailored to reach the audiences that are most interested in the showcased products and services,” Sibanda said further.
3Ktv, which was licensed in November 2020 after coming tops in a competitive and public bidding process, went on air amid palpable excitement at the end of February in 2022 — in the process becoming the first licensed private commercial station to operate in the country since television was first introduced in the then Southern Rhodesia in November 1960.
Apart from the television station, JMS also owns some of Zimbabwe’s biggest media brands that include the Daily News — the country’s most influential newspaper — as well as its printing division Printco, Jester Events, online business newsletter, Business Live, and The Financial Gazette — the nation’s number one business publication.
In November last year, JMS also launched an online radio station, as the country’s most dynamic and sustainable media group continued to set the pace in the sector.
Radio 3000, which streams its content over the internet, offers global access, wide-ranging programming, interactivity and device flexibility — thus contrasting itself significantly with many traditional local FM radio stations’ geographic limitations and static broadcasting models.
In launching the new station, JMS consolidated its multimedia operations, with its media brands now spanning television, radio, newspapers, websites, social media, mobile apps and strategic communications.
This latest addition to the JMS stable came amid the marked growth of podcasts in Zimbabwe, suggesting a marked appetite for on-demand audio content in the country — which Radio 3000 is seeking to capitalise on.
“With the launch of Radio 3000, JMS can now offer a 360-degree media and marketing capability to all advertisers.
“Thus, not only can our audiences and important stakeholders access our content everywhere, we now also offer our business partners a comprehensive and integrated marketing scope that combines multiple channels and platforms — both online and offline — to create a complete brand experience for targeted audiences.
“This way, our business partners can now achieve maximum reach, engagement and brand recognition for their brands and campaigns, as our cross-media platforms now cover all potential customer touch-points,” Sibanda said.
“Of course, launching Radio 3000 online is a start. As and when more FM licenses are made available by authorities in future, as will no doubt happen one day, we will absolutely put our hands up for them then.
“In the meantime, and with rising internet penetration and high mobile phone usage in the country, online radio is a strategic move on the part of JMS to reach Zimbabwe’s young, tech-savvy population in particular.
“Online radio is also not limited by a transmission antenna’s geographic range. Indeed, Radio 3000 is being heard by anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world, including the country’s large diaspora audience,” Sibanda said further.
“At the same time, it is also very important to note that Internet radio also offers all our valued corporate partners a lot of targeted and cost-effective options.
“This way, ad campaigns can be tailored to specific demographics, and analytics can provide precise, real-time data on listener behaviour and engagement.
“Internet radio platforms also offer more than just audio, integrating with social media, visuals and interactive elements to create a 360-degree content experience.
“This fosters a more direct and personal connection with the audience, who can interact with the station in real time,” Sibanda added.
Commenting generally on the significant market changes that have overwhelmed many media companies and other businesses in the country over the past few years, Sibanda said change was “constant and inevitable”.
“We at Jester Media Services always seek to embrace it, and to operate optimally within the realities of the market.
“To mitigate the disruption caused by technology and other dynamics, we have had to be agile and to adapt our strategies, while also diversifying our revenue streams — energised by the fact that we are now able to reach millions of our audiences every day via our various platforms.
“Our new strategies mean that we are able to monetise our expanded reach — now at its highest in our history — which has been crucial to sustaining our balanced and quality journalism,” Sibanda said.
3Ktv is a free-to-air (FTA), digital terrestrial television (DTT) station. This means that contrary to social media babble, anyone with the right equipment — such as a suitable set-top box — can receive its programming for free wherever the signal is available.
However, 3Ktv’s feed is also available through other platforms for which subscription fees may be payable. This explains the commercial station’s key partnership with MultiChoice which sees it also hosted on DStv’s channel 293.
Vasco Chaya
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
