PLEASED Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, has commended fast-growing independent national television station 3Ktv for both its performance and its upholding of professional standards.
Speaking in Harare on Friday night during 3Ktv’s first anniversary celebrations, Mutsvangwa said the channel had surpassed many stakeholders’ expectations through its high quality programming.
This comes as both viewers and advertisers continue to rally enthusiastically behind the history-making channel, the first licensed free-to-air private station to operate in the country since television was first introduced in Southern Rhodesia in November 1960.
“When I attended 3Ktv’s launch in February last year, I remember asking you to have a clear Zimbabwean identity in both character and in purpose, and not to allow yourselves to be hijacked by commercial and other interests.
“I am glad to note that your work over the past year shows that you took heed of my words. Not only has your station been bagging awards, but 3Ktv is now a shining example to the other stations that have come on board with regards to adhering to the requirements of licensing authorities,” a beaming Mutsvangwa said.
She added that the fact that the station was celebrating its first birthday was also a testimony that the Second Republic under President Emmerson Mnangagwa was for a plural media environment and open to advice, engagement, criticism and encouragement.
“We have never stopped listening to the concerns of the media in making the playing field level for all players, public and private.
“In that regard, my ministry continues on its path to open up the media sector to more players as part of our efforts to enhance the universal access to information and dissemination. The deliberate intention is to promote media plurality and to ensure that media coverage reaches even the remotest parts of the country, thus leaving no one and no place behind,” Mutsvangwa said further.
“Today, I pledge my ministry’s continued support to ensure Zimbabwean media houses such as 3Ktv thrive.
“Improvement of access to information, freedom of information and the participation of local communities in information dissemination is our top priority as a ministry.
“Support will be given to the media to ensure that they carry out their work unimpeded in a peaceful working environment. After all, access to information and freedom of expression are guaranteed by our Constitution,” Mutsvangwa added.
Pilate Machadu, the Group Chief Executive of Jester Media Services (JMS), the owners and operators of 3Ktv, whose stable includes the iconic Daily News, the Daily News On Sunday, e-newsletter Business Live and The Financial Gazette — said the success of the channel over the past 12 months was “mind blowing”.
Reminiscing about the bid for 3Ktv’s licence and its subsequent unlikely launch last year — against all odds and expectations — Machadu said public feedback confirmed that the station was “a game-changer not just for the JMS Group, but also for the entire local broadcasting and broader media sector”.
“There is no doubt that the launch of 3Ktv changed the broadcasting landscape in the country. Indeed, not many people believed at the time that we went on air that it could be done successfully.
“It is mind-blowing to realise that it has been a year now since we went live, and 3Ktv continues to grow from strength to strength all round, including in terms of its audiences and commercial sustainability.
“Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of all our key stakeholders, including 3Ktv’s viewers and advertisers,” the buoyant Machadu said.
“Our partnership with MultiChoice Africa has similarly been critical in placing us among the broadcasting heavyweights in the region from day one,” he added. “We also want to applaud the government and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) for opening up the airwaves and transparently introducing diversity in the local broadcasting industry.
“The coming up of 3Ktv, and later other new stations, has brought a breath of fresh air to the industry, while creating employment opportunities for many people. We are giving voices to many previously marginalised communities around the country, while also ensuring that marketers have a choice and optimal channel for their products,” Machadu also said.
“As JMS, we do have bigger ambitions. The significant investment in 3Ktv signals our plans to continue growing the group and to create Zimbabwe’s largest and most commercially sustainable media conglomerate in the next 10 years.
“Not surprisingly, 3ktv, as a result, remains well ahead of our initial projections including in terms of critical viewership numbers and the advertising support that the station is getting from our valued business partners,” Machadu added.
The free-to-air family-viewing station is also available on MultiChoice’s DStv platform, on Channel 293, to all bouquets offered by Africa’s leading entertainment company — from Premium through to Lite. The channel — which was licensed in November 2020 after taking first place in a competitive and public bidding process — went on air amid palpable excitement on February 28 last year.
