Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation


The Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation is a television network. It is Tanzania's national network and is government-owned and operated.

History

Radio broadcasts began on July 1, 1951. Until 1994, there was no single television network operating on mainland Tanzania. The only station of the United Republic was Television Zanzibar, which was established in the early 1970s. Whereas other African countries had decided to establish television shortly before or soon after independence Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere’s cabinet resisted the introduction of television at all, insisting that the medium was too expensive and that Tanzania’s radio coverage was yet too imperfect. Moreover, it was argued that such an expansion would merely serve the upper and wealthy strata of the population as an entertainment medium. On the contrary, television proponents claimed that the medium could be an effective instrument in the national development process since it produced social awareness among the people. As a consequence acceptance of and participation in various development programmes could be ensured. But in June 1974, President Julius Nyerere settled the matter by saying: "When we have a satellite that would make it possible to cover the whole country I will go for television... and not until then.“ As a result, the schemes of many institutions, such as UNESCO, Swedish Telecommunications Administration, Nippon Electric Corporation, or the British Marconi Company, were simply archived. In addition, the importation of TV sets was banned by law in 1974. Despite this, after the launch of many private TV stations, the government decided in 2001 to award a TV channel to TBC.

Programming

Programming includes news and entertainment. TBC operates its television programs through 3 television profiles namely TBC 1, TBC 2 and newly established Tanzania Safari Channel. Also it operates four radio stations, TBC Taifa, TBC FM and TBC Arusha in Swahili and TBC International in English.

Stations

TBC broadcasts on three TV channels and 4 radio stations and is also available via satellite and online.