WHEN you sit to watch television in Lusaka or on the Copperbelt, you can never imagine how bad the signal gets in other parts of the country.
I have been in the countryside the last few days where I have seen that here it is not right to say people have a poor signal it is no signal at all. My tour of duty in Muchinga Province has taken in Nakonde, Chinsali, Mpika and Isoka where the situation is so bad that all there is to watch is showers.
During a visit to the Isoka council chairperson Moses Simwanza’s office, he comically remarked that even if he does not know most people personally, he can recognise them by their voices since that is all he gets from watching television. Television is working as radio.
I have described his sentiments as being comical, especially the part he said most people spend the 30 more time shifting and turning around their antenna to try and get the best picture on television. Such is the magnitude of their plight.
Mr Simwanza intimated that sometimes the problem becomes more complicated as you get to the far flung areas where even a long external antenna does not help matters much. I can only hope the transmitters being rolled out by ZNBC will change the status quo.
I was impressed though to watch Muvi TV in Mpika. When I inquired about the clarity of the picture, it was revealed to me that the owners of Fresh Air lodge had invested in the much publicised MPEG 4 decoders.
Only then did I appreciate the importance of the new Muvi TV technology and the need for other upcoming stations to follow suit. It dawned on me that if television stations want to get a nationawide licence, they must be ready grow.
Lately, I have found myself among people discussing our television industry regarding the decoder and dish technology. In future we might need to have one decoder, one dish and one smart card that will still make us to be able to catch all the local channels.
If we could watch all channels then all stations just come up with a way of getting us to pay subscription to them somehow. Well, that is the thinking of an average television viewer from a layman footing but I am sure there is a lot the technocrats must do to get to that.
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Muvi TV is back with their Ready for Marriage reality show. Did I hear right that now show host Master Chimbala is looking for virgins? Last time it was reformed prostitutes. Little wonder Mabvuto Phiri was asking how Master is going to determine the virginity of these gentlemen.
This programme has gone through a metamorphosis since the first edition that was anchored by Augustine Lungu and it will be interesting to see how the show pans out this season. I hope Master can get back to the previous winners and other participants to catch up on what they are upto.
It would particularly be nice to get an experience of the winners whose price money was a sponsorship of a wedding to get the views of how it eased their burden of organising a wedding. Continuity is very important in such things.
The participants who did not win in the edition which carried the K100,000 wedding bill should be traced so that we understand whether they really needed help to sponsor their wedding or they just wanted to be on the programme.
Just another idea I want to float to Master, in future you should consider bringing already married couples to ask them if they were ready for marriage based on what they have discovered after getting into it.
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With the European football season getting underway, it is that time again when local sport gets overshadowed by oversees matches. Luckily, Nkana is still competing in continental games which badly deserve more coverage at this stage.
Unfortunately, the Kitwe side still faces anxiety about playing in Sewe Sport of Ivory Coast which will mean the team flying through Ebola-hit West Africa where most airlines have cancelled flights already.
I feel the local television stations should do more to explain the implications of a club failing to fulfill a fixture under these circumstances. If a team of 30 players and officials travels to West Africa and one of them gets infected, it will cease to be Nkana’s problem alone.
I can only wish Nkana the best of luck after their win over the highly rated Egyptian side Al Ahly left their fans daring to dream again.
Still on soccer, is it right to call it the Zambia National Soccer team? I feel it would suffice to just say national soccer team or Zambia soccer squad.
From the mailbag here is what I pulled out.
Dear Xavier,
Allow me to share this sentiment. I have followed your column but why is it that only ZNBC reacts to what you write? Here is the reason, I feel sometimes you write too many bad things about Muvi TV but you always glorify ZNBC. You should criticize ZNBC as much as Muvi TV or else people will conclude that your articles are just a personal attack.
I think there is also need for journalists to uphold ethics just like other professionals. Journalists are not immune to prosecution. So those that are abusing their profession to advance personal gains should be referred to their code of ethics. Anonymous.
For more comments manchishi@gmail.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Zambia.