ZBC TV goes live on the internet

Zimbabwe's state television has entered into a deal with a Dubai-based internet technology firm to beam its programmes live on the internet.

Harare - JumpTV began streaming Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) TV live on June 22, at no expense to registered users of their service.

The company said it would charge US$9.95 per month for the service beginning July 15. But viewers in the United States would continue to access the live stream for free, the company said.

“JumpTV delivered on its promise to bring news and information to thousands of Zimbabweans living overseas. This marks a historic step in ZBC TV's efforts to maximise the value of local content by attracting an international audience”, said Henry Muradzikwa, Group Chief Executive Officer of the ZBC.

There are plans to make ZBC's radio network available online before the end of July. The stations include National FM, Power FM, Radio Zimbabwe and SFM.

“We are optimistic that the bundling of Radio and Television from Zimbabwe into an all inclusive package will provide subscribers with all the news and entertainment they could possibly want from Zimbabwe. The bundling of content has been tried successfully in other parts of the African region”, said Douglas Ames, General Manager of Africa and the Caribbean for JumpTV.

ZBC TV's live internet stream can be accessed via www.jumptv.com . It will also become available on any third party web sites and IPTV platforms interested in a sub-license to carry ZBC TV, officials said.

ZBC is expected to share revenue raised from subscriptions to the channel.

Millions of Zimbabweans have left the country, fleeing an unprecedented economic collapse and rising poverty. JumpTV officials are aiming to tap into that market, although media analysts believe many will subscribe simply for nostalgic purposes, pointing to the political bias of ZBC programmes.

JumpTV says it has 295 channels from over 75 countries.

Article courtesy of NewZimbabwe