By Ben Kangwa
Digitization is the current
trend in broadcasting the world over, Zambia included. Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT) broadcasting is far more efficient, allowing better picture,
clear sound quality and improved programme presentation.
It is expected that DTT will have the
potential to increase the amount and variety of television content. It will also
afford the industry opportunities for interactive broadcasting as the
television sets will now do much more than receive signals such as perform the
tasks of computers and telephone handsets. This implies that TV sets will be
able to provide access to the internet - add to the list, enhanced applications
such as the electronic programme guides.
On the side of broadcasters,
digital broadcasting equipment will enable the simultaneous transmission of a
minimum of 20 Standard definition channels using MPEG 4 compression on one
frequency that used to transmit only one programme or channel in the analogue
transmission. In the case of Zambia, this shall mean that in each location in
Zambia, one digital transmitter shall be capable of carrying all existing
analogue channels from ZNBC , ZNBC TV2, Muvi TV, MOBI TV, TBN, CBC and others
simultaneously.
For this reason, there will be no need for all
broadcasters to have to put up their own transmitters, multiplexes and network.
It is also worth noting that a sizeable number of people in Lusaka, the
Copperbelt and Livingstone have been accessing Digital Terrestrial Television
through GOtv services, which as we understand is an undertaking between ZNBC
and Multi-Choice.
Malolela Lusambo is Director of Technical
Services at ZNBC and says, “The quality of the picture residents experience on
the GOtv platform is basically the arrangement that Zambians will also enjoy,
unless otherwise due to technical hitches, save for content.”
For this reason, various
benefits of digital transmission make digital broadcasting imperative for
television and radio. This is why the International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) recommended, in the Regional Radio Communications Conference of 2006,
also known as the RRC-06,that all countries were required to move to Digital
Broadcasting by the year 2015.
This conference also resolved that the (ITU)
would not protect any anologue television broadcasting, meaning analogue TV
signals will be susceptible to interference from different transmitters thus
suggesting an Analogue Switch Off.
In order to regularly update
Zambian stakeholders such as the Public and Private media on the implementation
of Digital Terrestrial Television broadcasting transition, the Independent
Broadcasting Authority (IBA) organized a Stakeholders’ Meeting at Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka themed ‘Digital
Migration’ on 13th May, 2015. The workshop addressed Policy makers,
Regulators, Broadcast Engineers, Broadcast Managers and officials from both
Public and Private Broadcast Media.
Power point presentations were made by the
IBA, the Zambia Information and Communications Authority (ZICTA) the Zambia
National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC- the public broadcaster) and the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services (MIBS) that suggested “Zambia
will fully implement the first phase of Digital Terrestrial Migration along the
Line of Rail and that other broadcasters would be able to transmit their
content through ZNBC.”
It should be observed that the
public broadcaster launched the Digital Terrestrial Television test
transmission in January, 2015 at ZNBC, as a first step to mark the full roll
out of Zambia’s digital process. The Second and Third Phases would be done at
the same time - the installation of studio equipment at the Zambia National
Broadcasting Corporation and roll out of Digital Transmitters in the Provincial
centres as well as areas beyond the Provincial Centres.
It is worth noting that as
June 17, 2015 draws nearer, it will become increasingly important for the
public broadcaster to respond to changes in the media environment much faster.
The public broadcaster will certainly need to build ties with its audience by
offering more services through a range of different platforms by ensuring that
it reflects the views of its audience and show that it is accountable for its
actions.
From a programmes creation
point of view, Digital Terrestrial Television will create growth for local
content production as well as skills development. Put simply, many channels for
the public broadcaster will require more quality content and more skilled
personnel to produce the content. More TV channels will also create an
opportunity for the public broadcaster to tell the Zambian story across
different platforms as in Business, Culture, Education, Health, News, Social
Development and Sports.
With analogue “free”
broadcasting on the way out, Pay TV providers have already timely rushed to
fill the gap with a primary strategy of investing in local talent. Multi-Choice
Zambia in March, 2015 organized a Producers’ Forum meeting at which M-Net
Africa and DStv announced the launch of “Zambezi Magic”, a new channel that will
showcase content from Malawi to Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and
Zambia to use the platform as an opportunity for film makers and producers in
the SADC region showcase their content.
Mr. Ndelela Sichizya, Marketing Manager at DStv-Zambia
says, “What we would like is for filmmakers to see this as an opportunity to
showcase their content across the region and we are looking forward to a longer
and more sustainable relationship with producers.”
The content offering is from
M-Net Archive to introduce local content from across the SADC region as channel
viewership grows and in light of the changing consumer preference that is
gradually shifting from international to local content as well as the global
shift from Analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television.
It should be mentioned that two
years earlier, in 2013, Multi-Choice launched M-Net and Super Sport studios in
Kenya to enable the two content providers download and upload content straight
to South Africa for bouquet selection, while the first Africa Magic Channel,
which has since grown to eight channels across Africa, and whose objective is
to ensure local talent is harnessed and promoted on its channels, was pioneered
in Nigeria in 2003.
In Zambia, the first
commercial operation using the Digital Video Broadcast standard – DVB-T2 was
rolled out in June 2011, in a partnership between GOtv, a product of
Multi-Choice and the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, representing one
of the most advanced Digital Terrestrial Television broadcast system and
infrastructure in Africa. With it came a bouquet called GOtv Extra, offering
Zambian television viewers access to 24 channels, including, among others
SuperSport Select2, Telemundo and M-Net Movie Zones.
Not to be out done and left
out in the competition, MUVI TV started offering two new channels in December
2013 and now offers a total of eleven channels. These are MUVI TV, MUVI Africa
Unite, MUVI Nyimbo, MUVI Muviz, MUVI Prism Africa, MUVI Nkani, MUVI Combo, MUVI
Bakadoli, MUVI Emmanuel, HC Zambia and MUVI Novela. The expansion of the eleven
channels facilitates the provision of enhanced entertainment, religious and
education programmes. They are beamed on the latest MPEG 4 decorders, preparing
the station for Digital Terrestrial Television. CEO of MUVI TV Steve Nyirenda
believes Digital Terrestrial Television will enable all homes in Zambia benefit
from the quality of Digital TV.
As the June17, 2015 deadline
draws nearer, when all television broadcasters in Zambia will move to Digital
Terrestrial Television, the television landscape will definitely move to the
next level technically. Undoubtedly, this new situation will change the habits
of the population. The latter have to equip themselves with television sets
capable of receiving high quality picture and high quality sound. It will
afford viewers more programming choice and more optimum utilization.
More channels will also mean
more competition, more local content accessible via broadband internet and a
mix of satellite free-to-air and TV bouquets as well as potential revenues and
more skilled labour.
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The writer is a Broadcast
Journalist/Media Consultant
Thannk you for sharing
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