Football fans fume over 'Big Match' blackout

Football fans fume over 'Big Match' blackout

• Mugabe's spokesman lied to Supreme Court

• Zimbabwe's state-run radio stations now online

• Fury at Mujuru, Gono, Ndlovu media blackout

• Minister: no licences for foreign broadcasters

• ZBC in crisis as 111 workers quit in 9 months

• Ex-ZBC boss arrested in Kariba

• Police disrupt Radio Dialogue event

• Multichoice statement on loss of English soccer

• MultiChoice blames English PSL for blackout

• Dstv pulls plug on English premiership

• ZBC outside broadcast equipment damaged in accident

• ZBC TV goes live on the internet

• MPs reverse new television licence fees

• Charamba rejects ZBH appointments

• Charamba delays ZBH appointments

• Mavhengere to be named as new ZBH TV general manager

• Newsnet boss Chivinge fired over China trip

• Chivinge faces axe over China trip

• ZBH board cut as Muradzikwa named CEO

• Muradzikwa set to be named new ZBH boss

• Zanu PF fires newspaper editor

• Power struggle at Information Ministry

• Zimbabwe's information minister Jokonya dies

• Jonathan Moyo: ZBH needs money, but whose money?

• Jokonya makes sweeping changes at ZBH

• MP's finger Herald political editor over sexual abuse

By Lebo Nkatazo

JUMPTV, an international distributor of live television and sports programmes, was told to jump by Zimbabwean sports fans this week after it failed to stream live the crucial league match between Dynamos and Highlanders on Sunday.

JumpTV, which broadcasts live content from over 240 television stations from 70 countries, has exclusive rights to stream Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) television live.

The state-run ZBC TV was added on the JumpTV network in May, and recently, all the country’s state-run radio stations were also added to the country package. JumpTV says ZBC has one of the highest subscribers by country.

Dozens of subscribers reacted with fury when JumpTV aired a pre-recorded Mai Chisamba show on Sunday, instead of the live football featuring the country’s top football teams.

“Most of us want to see the football and other special events on ZBC TV,” said one subscriber from East London. “If they can’t show them, then there is no reason for us to subscribe, it’s a hoax.”

New Zimbabwe.com readers also fired a volley of protests on our discussion forums. One reader said: “JumpTV is a rip off!”

Another poster added: “This bloody JumpTV is taking the p***.”

Explaining the loss of live streaming, Douglas Ames, the General Manager of JumpTV Africa, the Caribbean and Europe said a “satellite carriage” had failed on Friday night forcing them to stream old programmes.

“It should be back up sometime today. The technical fault was with ZBC’s satellite provider,” Ames said Tuesday.

Some subscribers had complained that JumpTV refused to refund them their subscription fees after they asked to cancel their accounts.

Under Article 3.6 of Jump TV’s terms and conditions posted on their website, JumpTV does not provide refunds on subscription fees already paid.

Confronted on this, Ames said nine out of ten subscribers who joined between Friday and Sunday would be refunded.

JumpTV’s decision to host ZBC TV and radio has not gone without opposition from Zimbabwean human rights campaigners and political activists. The activists say the ZBC is a megaphone of President Robert Mugabe’s propaganda, and any subscription fees find their way back to “prop up this repressive regime”.

An online petition posted by activists from the London-based Zimbabwe Vigil urges JumpTV to “pull the plug” on ZBC.

The petition says in part: “There is an acute foreign currency shortage in Zimbabwe at the moment, just as there are shortages of everything. The only place where it is readily available is on the black market and it has been known for the government to resort to any means to get their hands on foreign currency and we are in no doubt they use the ZBC as a conduit of acquiring the currency.”

The activists invite signatures from Zimbabweans to “respectfully call on JumpTV to consider pulling the plug on the ZBC, as doing business with the ZBC helps prop up this repressive regime since they pay the ZBC royalties in much needed foreign currency, thereby prolonging continued suffering of Zimbabwean citizens.”

Ames said the campaigners were misdirected.

He said: “We have a responsibility to carry news and other programmes for the benefit of our subscribers. It is not for us to form any opinion on what we carry…the subscribers decide whether they want to join or not.

“There are other channels we work with and we carry them with the same terms and conditions, not biased in one direction or another. There are over four million Zimbabweans overseas, should we deny our customers content? Do we become political, or we let the viewers decide? We are not responsible for what goes on in Zimbabwe; we receive a feed and don’t interfere.”

Ames compared the activists’ protests to a man who picks up the phone and calls his wife to request a divorce, then the wife turns round and blames the phone company for causing their divorce.

Ames added: “If these people are serious, why don’t they start by campaigning for the blockage of all international calls going through to Zimbabwe, since the phone companies are paid in forex for connection fees?”

You can watch ZBC TV and listen to the four radio stations by subscribing on the JumpTV.com website: CLICK HERE

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