ZTN ready to hit screens
ZIMPAPERS Television Network (ZTN) which was last year awarded a broadcasting licence along with other five stations, has welcomed yesterday’s digital switch-over and is ready to roll out programming.
Chief executive for the diversified media group Mr Pikirayi Deketeke yesterday said the company would also consider providing set-top box gadgets as a business route.
Speaking on the sidelines of the switch-over launch from analogue to digital television transmission (DTT) by Information, Publicity ad Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa in Magunje yesterday, Mr Deketeke was upbeat about the development.
He was in the company of Zimpapers’ board chairman, Mr Tommy Sithole.
Minister Mutsvangwa commissioned the country’s DTT programme under the Zimbabwe Digital Broadcasting Migration at a landmark ceremony.
Digital terrestrial television (DTT or DTTV) is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to TV sets in homes in a digital format.
DTT is a major technological
advance over the previous analogue television, and has largely replaced analogue which had been in common use since the middle of the 20th century.
Test broadcasts began in 1998 with the changeover to DTT, also known as Analogue Switchoff (ASO) or Digital Switchover (DSO), beginning in 2006 and is now complete in many countries.
“As we were given licence to function, we need to have transmission so we are hoping that with the opening of more transmission sites, we will be able then to get our content to go across the country.
“ZTN has been in the game for
almost three years and producing content online so they are quite prepared to meet the challenge,” he said.
“As the Minister indicated, we might be looking at supplying settop boxes as a business line.”
Minister Mutsvangwa urged companies with free funds to import the set-top boxes so that the digitisation process would be fully completed.
At least 18 transmitters in Karoi, Mutorashanga, Chivhu, Binga, Mudzi, Gokwe, Gweru, Kotwa, Gwanda, Kamativi, Kadoma, Harare, Chiredzi, Chimanimani, Nyanga, Kenmaur, Mutare and Bulawayo have been completed and are ready to offer digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals.