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Local television stations struggling

Since the dawn of multiparty democracy, the country has seen the mushrooming of private television stations. One thing that has, however, caught the eye of observers is that though the number of television stations is impressive, the local content is limited. The coming in of Covid-19 has also made Malawians to expect a little more from local stations. EDITH GONDWE talked to Mibawa Television Station owner John Nthakomwa to discuss these issues and more affecting the local television industry. Excerpts 

Nthakomwa: Honestly the television industry in Malawi is struggling

Q

: Since the onset of Covid-19, many entertainment events have effectively stopped. The attention is now on channels such as television and the Internet.

A

: Yes. The demand for more entertaining activities on television has risen since the coming in of Covid-19 and the introduction of preventive measures against the spread of the same. But as television station operators, we are also affected. For us to produce entertaining programmes and shows, we need funds and the advertisers say they too are affected and cannot advertise as much as they want to. Good entertainment that can come in and work on behalf of live shows needs a lot of funds to pull off and that is where we are struggling.

Q

: Last week we saw Mibawa Television pulling off one of the best virtual shows reaching out to people from the comfort of their homes. This was the Black Missionaries Give Back to the People Concert. Can’t you make this a regular thing?

A

: You are right to say the Ma Blacks concert was a huge success. But for us to finally host it, it was not an easy fit. We had approached several corporate institutions about our intentions to host live music shows but many were reluctant to sponsor us based on the fact that we had never done a live virtual music show before. But, luckily we managed to secure sponsorship from Premier Bet. Our aim was not to just put out a virtual show but to also help the artists earn something and that is what we did. It took a lot of planning to make sure that the sound was of great quality and that the picture was clear. We also made sure we had a standard stage which in the end worked well. We achieved that and we hope this set the precedent for other potential sponsors to come on board. We think Malawians deserve a weekly dosage of virtual live music or theatre events. Judging from the views on our social media platform and the feedback we are getting, Malawians really enjoyed that virtual show and will appreciate if it was a regular thing.

Q

: Another area of concern is the lack of local movie content on many local television stations, including Mibawa. Why is this so?

A

: All things being equal we would love to air purely local content including movies. However, for us to air a local movie, we must pay the owners of that movie and that’s a challenge for us. You know we operate on Free to Air mode meaning to get revenue we must get adverts or sponsors. I have already discussed how hard it is to get sponsors these days let alone to sponsor a movie. But we are talking to government to change the way local television stations operate so that local television stations have some solid means of getting some revenue. But not all is lost. Though our local content is limited, as Mibawa we have done some tremendous improvements. For example, we air a weekly show called Praise and Worship where local gospel musicians come and perform for free. The aim is to expose them. We also have Mwachande and Nthumwi. These are local drama series that are sponsored. Mwachande is sponsored by Masm while Nthumwi is sponsored by Nico Life Insurance Company. Mwachande has been running for the past eight years and I think as a local television station, we are trying. We can do better though.

Let me add to say I somehow understand why the corporate institutions are not coming forth as much as we would want to. You see, there are a lot of media institutions looking for sponsorship from a few corporate institutions who in the first place don’t have stiff competition because probably the market or economy is small so, honestly the television industry in Malawi is struggling.

Q: When you first came to Malawi, you had Mibawa Band. What happened to it?

A

: I am currently rebuilding the band. We have roped in JJ Munthali to rebuild it and hopefully in six months time we will have it back and running. Because of the changes we are making to the television industry to focus on education and entertainment, we need a band that can take part in educating and entertaining the masses. However, the challenge has always been to maintain such a band. Event organisers want to pay little but to have a band on stage takes a lot of money. And we need our band members on a salary so that they are focused. But we are hopeful that this time around things will work out for the best. 

Q

: Finally, do you have any additional remarks?

A

: Yes. I would like to ask government to put in place deliberate measures that will make it easy for television stations to operate profitably. I also call upon government and the corporate world to put in some effort in promoting the welfare of artists in Malawi. These people are some of the worst hit due to Covid-19. Imagine for months now they cannot go on stage and perform. They have families that rely on them. These are the people that entertain us and now is the time to return the favour. We can use them to raise awareness on Covid-19 and in return let them earn something.

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