Government and TopStar Communications Company have signed a Service Level agreement for the use of the Digital Television Transmission Network by ZANIS Television.
The agreement means that ZANIS channel will officially air on the TopStar platform.
Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Kennedy Kalunga says the agreement prescribes modalities on how ZANIS will cooperate with TopStar in the operation of its television channel.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Kalunga has since urged ZANIS to produce content that will reflect the lives of people across the country.
“The TV channel requires content without which TopStar will have nothing to transmit to the people in line with this agreement. I therefore urge ZANIS to ensure that they produce content that will reflect the lives and voices of the people in all corners of the country,” Mr Kalunga said.
Speaking at the same event, TopStar Chief Executive Officer, John Zhuangy said the agreement means that ZANIS becomes the fifth free to air channel on its platform.
Mr Zhuangy explained that subscribers are now able to access the channel without an active subscription.
He said this will ensure that more people from across the country have access to the channel.
“ZANIS is now in your homes and local communities , both on the decoder with the antenna and the decoder with the dish to ensure that no one is left behind on current affairs , education and entertainment,” he said.
And ZANIS Director, Loyce Saili pledged that the channel will ensure it produces content that highlights developmental projects that government is implementing across the country.
Mrs Saili said the channel will produce content that is relevant to ordinary Zambians.
She further said the channel will provide an alternative source of news for the Zambian populace.
She noted that ZANIS having presence across all parts of the country, will work to the advantage of viewers of the channel.
“ZANIS is a very large news establishment that has presence in over 100 districts and therefore this gives us an edge to be able to bring news or content that is very unique,” Ms Saili said.