Zimbabwe plans to launch 24 new TV channels but is silent about how the cash-strapped Southern African country's government or companies getting licences will pay for it while existing TV operators like MultiChoice Zimbabwe is struggling with payment options and to get paid by DStv subscribers.
Part of the 24 new planned TV channels will be run and done by the embattled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Zimbabwe's state broadcaster, as well as by new private companies.
It will be extremely difficult for the struggling ZBC or new private entrants to successfully run anything like additional new TV channels with the country that's notorious for its draconian censorship and harsh laws against media freedom, that has also been marked by a struggling economy for decades.
Nick Mangwana, Zimbabwe's secretary for information, publicity and broadcasting services says that Zimbabwe's government "will diversify ownership".
"Licences will not be issued on partisan lines, but it will be open for everyone. The licences will be issued in a transparent manner, but the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, as a public broadcaster, will have a fair share".
Zimbabwe plans to allow foreign ownership in the private new TV channels to be up to 20%, although it's difficult to see any takers given the harsh way that Zimbabwe has treated and are treating private broadcasters in the country, like MultiChoice, going as far as saying that consumers watching DStv are damaging the country and contributing to the country's bad foreign reserves situation.
In February 2017 the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank dramatically ramped up its clamping down on citizens using foreign currency and the American dollar, specifically slamming Zimbabwean DStv subscribers for their "illogical behaviour" of wanting to subscribe and pay for DStv.
Zimbabwe says it is working on reforming of the country's draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) to give the public more access to information.
Zimbabwe's naive 24 TV channel pipedream is completely unsustainable and reminds of South Africa's original plan to launch 18 TV channels, which was downscaled to 5.
In September 2011 SABC executives and the SABC board told parliament that the SABC's DTT offering will consist of 18 TV channels - 17 TV channels (which includes SABC1, SABC2, SABC3) and one interactive video service channel - as well as 18 SABC radio stations plus Channel Africa.
Out of the SABC's envisioned DTT plans, only SABC News and SABC Encore (originally called SABC Entertainment) materialised with the SABC unable to do even these channels on its own.
Both channels have been funded and are paid for by the MultiChoice Group and would be shut down by the SABC if not for the money from MultiChoice paid to the South African public broadcaster.
