MUVI Television has started casting news while standing. Just last week the station also re-introduced their flagship drama series Banja in a new package they are calling prime plus local programming.
I have personally sampled a few of the new look programming but from to what I got from Muvi TV Sales Manager Mutolo Mwamba Ngenda, the channel of choice seems to have responded to the cry from their fanatics for the return of Banja.
Precious Testimonies, anchored by Panji Chipeta, is one programme I appreciated the first time I watched it. The new look Banja under the Kaduka will never be the same with the late Ziye but it still retains the originality of an average Zambian community set-up.
The casting of news while standing is another initiative that resonates with modernity which ZNBC TV 2 is already doing to great effect. The news montage on Muvi TV is also good but I am sure more innovations will be brought on board to perfect it.
In the station’s view, MUVI Television unveiled its much anticipated prime plus local exclusive programming aimed at ensuring that its programme line up is fully dominated by local content.
The prime plus local content will run from 18: 00 hours to 22:00 daily. The programing will ensure that Zambians enjoy irresistible local content meant to showcase local talent and skills in the film industry to the best of the country’s ability.
The deliberate step is further meant to allow Zambians appreciate the local talent, heritage and culture through television programming. It will also enable tourists to explore the country’s rich heritage.
The launch has also been preceded by the return of your favourite drama series, Banja dubbed “Kaduka.” Banja, which has been synonymous with the station for the past ten years as its flagship production.
The latest production being filmed in the beautiful scenery of Siavonga district, Southern Province is a depiction of wrangles that characterise succession and inheritance in a local chiefdom.
Other programmes that have been launched include Ni Zamcab, Pa Job, Umupamba and Bondix among others, while current affairs enthusiasts will be treated to top class programmes that include Sports on Tuesday, Top story and Behind the Story during week days.
Additionally, the television station has also ensured a weekend of action packed local movies dubbed Zed busters.
The offloading of these packages avails a variety of platforms the business community should take advantage of in marketing their products and services.
That is a plus for the station and I hope the package will sit well with the Muvi TV enthusiasts.
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Now that ZNBC TV 2 is also on the DStv platform, the jury is out on whether or not the station is not replicating the same programmes as ZNBC TV 1. The fact that from midnight to 10 hours the main channel switches to TV2 programming does not help matters.
There has already been an argument that it is difficult to separate between the two channels especially from the point of view of news content. The core reason an extra channel was introduced was to rival the main channel in entertainment.
As the June 2015 deadline for television stations to migrate to digital viewing from analogue, it remains to be seen what other shifts will take place. I have seen advertisements on ZNBC about their new decoder kit.
I only hope viewers will not be caught napping when all television stations migrate to the digital platforms from analogue like was the case in Kenya where people were switched off.
Key Kenyan television stations were taken off air the other Saturday after failing to switch from analogue to digital signals Officials from the government’s Communication Authority (CA), accompanied by police, switched off the analogue signal around midday at four major stations – NTV, KTN, Citizen TV and QTV.
The government’s phase-out of analogue technology was opposed by several broadcasters, who argue the digital set-top boxes needed for the new service would be too expensive for most Kenyans to buy.
For that reason, many stations had resisted equipping themselves for digital broadcasting a procrastination tactic the government appears to be undercutting by moving forward with the analogue cut as planned.
“In compliance with Communications Authority analogue switch off order we regret to inform our regular broadcasts are no longer on air,” read an on-screen message sent out by affected stations before they went dark.
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From the wire, I got this interesting story of how a responsible station respects its viewers. The producers of a popular television soap in Angola have apologised after an episode which showed a gay couple kissing caused outrage among viewers.
State television said it had suspended broadcasts of Jikulumessu for “technical reasons.”
Many viewers felt the programme went too far by showing two men kissing, although homosexual acts are not illegal in Angola, correspondents say.
The programme was produced by a firm owned by the president’s son.
Jose Eduardo Paulino dos Santos, a leading artist better known by his stage name Coreon Du, has often been accused of promoting homosexuality in Angola, where many people hold conservative religious and social values.
His firm, Semba Productions, said it was reviewing the programme and it apologised for any offense caused.
Jikulumessu was shown daily on prime-time television until broadcasts were suspended on Monday night.
It was the second Angolan soap to feature gays and lesbians but until last week the gay actors, unlike their heterosexual colleagues, had never kissed.
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