This is the International Section of
The Broadcast Archive
Maintained by:
Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer
updated: 5/1/07
Zambian Broadcasting:
From Colin Miller:
ZAMBIA
It was not until World War II that Northern Rhodesia acquired a radio
service. In 1941 the Government's Information Department installed a 300 watt
transmitter in Lusaka, the capital. This station was built for the purpose of
disseminating war related information. From the outset, the Lusaka station
addressed programs to Africans in their own languages, becoming the pioneer in
the field of local vernacular broadcasting. In 1945 Harry Franklin, Lusaka's far
sighted information officer, proposed that Radio Lusaka concentrate on
developing programming for Africans. Since Northern Rhodesia could not afford
such a specialized service on its own, the administrations of Southern Rhodesia
and Nyasaland were persuaded to share in the operating costs, while the British
Government agreed to provide capital funds. Thus, the Central African
Broadcasting Station came into being. Among the by-products of this effort were
the world's most extensive collection of ethnic African music, and a
breakthrough in that most formidable barrier to audience growth, the lack of a
receiver which Africans could afford to buy.
Franklin tried for three years in the late 1940s to persuade British
manufacturers that a potential mass market existed among Africans for a very
simple inexpensive battery operated short wave receiver. One must bear in mind
that this was before the days of transistors. He finally persuaded a battery
company to invest in the research and development of the idea. One of the early
models was mounted experimentally in a 9-inch diameter aluminum housing
originally intended as a saucepan. Thus was born in 1949 the famous
"Saucepan Special", a 4-tube tropicalized short wave receiver, which
succeeded even beyond Franklin's expectations. It cost five pounds Sterling, and
the battery, which lasted 300 hours, an additional one pound five shillings.
Within the first three months 1,500 of the Saucepan Specials had been sold, and
in the next few years, 50,000 sets were imported. Franklin had hopes of
capitalizing on a world market for the sets, but within a few years the
transistor radio came into mass production and so turned his brainchild into a
mere historical curiosity.
In 1953 Federation came, and in 1958 a new broadcasting organization, the
Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was founded, with
headquarters in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). Lusaka
continued to use African languages as well as English, but the spirit which had
animated the original station had long since been drowned by the rising tide of
animosity between the races. Eventually in 1964, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland
broke away from the Federation and became Zambia and Malawi. The station in
Lusaka was then known as the Zambia Broadcasting Corporation until 1966, when it
changed to Zambia Broadcasting Services (ZBS). This was again changed at the end
of 1988 to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC). The ZNBC is a
Government department under the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and
Tourism.
There are three domestic services. Radio 1 is carried over 8 FM transmitters,
broadcasting in the seven major languages of Bemba, Nyanja, Lozi, Tonga, Kaounde,
Lunda and Luvale. These are used in rotation to ensure a prime time audience for
each group. Radio 2 is also broadcast by 8 FM transmitters in English. Finally
Radio 4 (apparently there is no Radio 3) is broadcast in English over 5 FM
transmitters. Programs include news, public affairs, light entertainment, sport,
religion and education. School broadcasts are carried during school semesters.
Agricultural programs for farmers cover all the country areas. Listening is
encouraged by free provision of receivers for farm radio forums, of which there
are more than 600. An annual licence fee is payable but many receivers are not
licensed!
Our sincere thanks to Colin Miller collin.miller@sympatico.ca,
for sharing this information with us.
- History
- Regulation
- Station Identifications
Zambia Broadcast History:
Stay tuned for more!
Regulation:
Early regulation of broadcasting
Station Identification:
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