INDEPENDENT national commercial television station, 3Ktv, continues to outshine its industry peers.
This comes after the 21-month old station swept the board at the inaugural Zimbabwe Annual Film and Television Awards (ZAFTAs) ceremony, which was held in Harare at the weekend.
The country’s fastest growing TV channel garnered 10 awards at the glittering event — adding more silverware to its already bountiful trophy cabinet. The ZAFTAs ceremony was broadcast live by 3Ktv.
Launched last year as the country’s first ever licensed private television station, the free-to-air 3Ktv — can also be accessed on DStv’s Channel 293.
The station has been growing in leaps and bounds. The ZAFTAs are organised by the Cinema Society of Zimbabwe (CSZ).
They recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of actors, directors, producers, writers, presenters, technicians and other industry players. Ever bubbly 3Ktv presenter and popular host of Zim Uncovered, Edith Marwiro — who is better known as Mazwi on the silver screen — won the ‘Outstanding TV Presenter’ category.
She beat the likes of Mai Chisamba, Charles Mabika and Candice Mwakalyelye to the gong. 3Ktv’s much-loved productions that include Jangano, Maliwe, Faking it, Amanxeba, Hakata, Bundu and Tangled — also came out tops in different categories. Amanxeba scooped four awards for ‘Outstanding Directing for a Television Series’, ‘Outstanding Editing for a Television Series’ (Solomon Mandaza and Ibraheem Kuvawoga), ‘Outstanding Television Actress’ (Donna Odendaal) and ‘Popular Television Series’.
Faking It won the ‘Outstanding Television Series’ gong, while its lead actor, Lucian David, took home the ‘Outstanding Television Actor’. Bundu won the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Wardrobe and Costume Design for Television’ award, while Hakata — which is directed by Willard Slimaz Magombedze — won the award for ‘Outstanding Indigenous Culture, Language and Tradition in a Television Series’.
These latest awards underlined the history-making channel’s continued dominance of the local broadcasting sector, where it is making huge strides since coming on stream at the end of February last year.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, 3Ktv managing director, Zweli Sibanda, described the station’s latest awards as “a testament of the quality of the channel’s programming and its ability to cater for the viewing needs of Zimbabweans.
These latest awards are an affirmation of the hard yards that all the staff in our group, including those at 3Ktv, continue to put in their work. We feel very encouraged and energised by all the accolades and acclaim that we have received in our short time on air.
“These latest awards also come at a very interesting time for 3Ktv as we have just entered our eighth season, where we have ramped up our already engrossing programming that speaks to the best of Zimbabwean life,” Sibanda said.
Speaking to the Daily News’s sister paper, the Daily News On Sunday at the weekend, Sibanda also disclosed then that 3Ktv continued to exceed expectations on both its viewership and revenue growth projections.
“While it is true that we were always convinced before we launched 3Ktv that the station would do well, nearly two years later it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations all around, which is absolutely wonderful — especially given the current challenging operating environment.
“At the centre of this gratifying performance is our unique programming, which is anchored on offering the very best of local content. “It is in this light that our viewers and advertisers will not be disappoint[1]ed by the engrossing programmes in our eighth season,” Sibanda said.
“It really is wonderful to see that Zimbabweans continue to follow and support 3Ktv massively. “Indeed, the overwhelming majority of our millions of viewers say that they remain impressed by the variety and quality of our programming,” he also said.
3Ktv is wholly-owned and operated by Jester Media Services Group. Apart from the television station, JMS also owns some of the country’s biggest and most influential media brands that include the Daily News, the Daily News on Sunday, its printing division Printco, Jester Events, online business newsletter Business Live, and The Financial Gazette — the country’s number one business publication.
“As JMS, we have big ambitions. The significant investment in 3Ktv signalled our plans to continue growing the group and to create Zimbabwe’s largest and most commercially sustainable media conglomerate in the next 10 years,” Sibanda enthused.
3Ktv — which was licenced in November 2020 after coming tops in a competitive and public bid[1]ding process — went on air amid palpable excitement on February 28 last year, 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.
