Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation

Zimbabwe Broadcasting corporation is a state controlled broadcaster in Zimbabwe.

History

The station was established in 1980 succeeding the Voice of Zimbabwe Rhodesia which in turn has succeeded the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation in 1979. Initially, the first ever television stations in Zimbabwe were launched in 1960.^[1] ZBC is 100% state-owned and in 2010 it launched the second station Channel 2. The broadcaster has often been used by as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and the conveyor belt of hate speech especially during election time. It operations four radio stations namely Power FM which was ranked number one super brand electronic media in 2012 by the super brands of the year report, Spot FM , National FM and Radio Zimbabwe. The first two broadcasts in English, the third in minority languages and the last one in Shona and IsiNdebele. In 2005 when the then Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo unbundled the Corporation into nine companies under the Zimbabwe Broadcasting oldings (ZBH). They are Newsnet, Transmedia, Sportnet, Power FM, Radio Zimbabwe, On Air Systems, Zimbabwe Television and National FM.

The decline

ZBC’s monopolies over the airwaves have seen most people resorting to foreign channels as evidenced by the sprouting of satellite dishes around the country. The decline started in the new millennium owing to poor programming and the expansion of the South African based MultiChoice Africa’s DStv. Obsolete equipment and lack of skilled labour has led to poor programming resulting in the channel’s decline. The 2011 Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS), showed that 27% of the urban population watched Zimbabwe Television whereas 47% watched satellite television channels