IN a year local television stations have punched way above their proverbial weight, you expect them to look forward to an even better next 12 months. Not so much for our stations that have to contend with the much awaited digital migration next year.

Obviously some of the highlights of the year 2014 will be the coverage of late President Michael Sata’s funeral, the 2014 FIFA World Cup which was carried live on ZNBC and Muvi TV as well as the attempt to balance local and foreign content.

The funeral of Mr Sata having come unannounced required the television houses to plan under pressure but like we said after the burial, most of the stations covered the funeral well by bringing out various other aspects as opposed to the usual playing of solemn songs throughout.

If Government prides itself as having given Mr Sata a befitting send off, the television channels can also stick their necks out and say in their own way they did as much.
The role of the media during the mourning period was even more evident from the fact that people from the provinces were asked not to travel to Lusaka but follow the proceedings on television.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup caught the eye especially that 7-1 semi-final demolition of hosts Brazil by eventual champions Germany. What was even more captivating was the fact that we enjoyed the action on Muvi TV and ZNBC.

. Phiri

With all the disgruntlement about the low sports content on local television, televising the football World Cup, some AFCON qualifiers, the local football league and boxing bouts involving Catherine Phiri went some way in whetting the appetite of sports fans.

It is, however, the continued ignoring of the so called minor sports that still calls to question the television stations’ role in the development of sports. The total black out of sports programmes by TBN, Mobi Tv and other smaller stations is even more disappointing.

During the year under review, we also discussed some shortcomings on the small screens including mispronunciations, misspelled names, lack of captions, inconclusive stories and the utter failure attribute works done by other people.

The issue of wrong pronunciations drew so much attention my inbox was actually inundated with comments from viewers who thought most of it is out of carelessness if an anchor could not correctly pronounce the name of a guest within earshot with an option to ask them.

Muvi TV and Mobi TV were singled out as culprits for failure to put captions on their news. The two stations that are famed for their community news content also came in for heavy criticism for having crowds in their field report pictures that end up swallowing the voice of the reporter.

Lest we forget, it was also during this year that we also discussed the number of competitions on television stations. Hardly a set of commercials pass before seeing a lottery of this or that. The festive period has made it worse.
Television stations are awash with various lotteries some of which one is left wondering whether they are approved by the Zambia Lotteries Board.

Muvi TV stands out as the most innovative station for me after the six new channels that were introduced on its bouquet. The transition towards digital migration may catch other stations unaware.
The new channels include Muvi Novela, which will offer nonstop soapies and Telenovelas than ever before, Bakadoli, has a wide range of Kids stories, content, games and cartoons, Nkhani, a-24 hour news and current affairs and Yanga T.V.

Others are Emmanuel T.V and Fire T.V. The expansion facilitated its channel offer capacity to 12 with the already existing channels such as, Muvi T.V, Africa Unite T.V, Muvi Nyimbo (Music),Muvi Combo (Sci Fi, Series, Documentaries), Muvi Muviz (Block Buster Movies) and Muvi Prism Africa (Religious) aimed at enhanced a wide selection of entertainment, education and information.

From my interactions with Muvi TV general manager Costa Mwansa, the station is doing all this under very difficult circumstances considering the huge rights fees being charged. Staying afloat amidst all the challenges is a sign that the station is going leaps and bounds.

ZNBC corporate affairs manager Masuzyo Ndhlovu provided the much needed feedback to this column to clarify where a misrepresentation was inadvertently made. This year, Masuzyo went even as far as picking out viewers’ comments to respond to them individually.

We value that kind of feedback which I feel ZNBC also needs. It was refreshing to watch some of the interesting programming that the national broadcaster offered during the course of 2014.

Overall, so many areas could have been done better by ZNBC, Muvi TV, TBN, Mobi TV, Prime TV, CBC to grow the audio visual media. The shortcomings, challenges and successes of the year should be used as a reflection towards building a successful local television industry in years to come.

Going forward, television stations must consult their inner conscious on whether or not they are not short-changing their viewers. Muvi TV charged subscription for its bouquet and so does ZNBC for the television levy. The stations must ask themselves if their programming is worth what viewers pay.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Prosperous 2015.
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