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Rhodesia Television
Rhodesia Television (RTV) was a live-broadcast, television station operating in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as a private company. It was established on the 14th of November, 1960, first in Salisbury (now Harare), with transmissions in Bulawayo beginning seven months later. It was only the fourth TV service in Africa after Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt, and the first such service in southern Africa, since South Africa did not introduce television until 1976.
RTV broadcast on behalf of the then Federal Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), with its major shareholders being South African companies, including the Argus Group of newspapers, parent company of the Rhodesia Herald, and Davenport and Meyer, which also operated LM Radio, based in Mozambique. Broadcasts started on 15 November 1960. RTV was funded by advertising, sponsored programmes and a television licence fee. Television reception was confined mainly to large cities, and most viewers were whites. In its first decade, broadcasts were received in Salisbury on channel 4 and Bulawayo on channel 3. Umtali (now Mutare) only received television in 1972, by which time it was estimated that more than 90 per cent of the white population had access to the service. By 1973, RTV was broadcasting 42 hours a week from three transmitters.
The station originally provided live monochrome news and entertainment and was instrumental in maintaining public morale after the nation's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965 and during the subsequent Rhodesian Bush War, when the country gained its independence. The first programming created for the majority black viewership was introduced when RTV was taken over by the Rhodesian government in 1976, becoming RBC TV, when the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) initially acquired a 51 per cent stake in the service.
Occupying a position high in the hills above the Salisbury racecourse, the Pockets Hill television station was built just a few metres away from its original 'Alexandra Palace-style' transmitter mast. This was later replaced by a much taller, guyed structure. The HQ of the Rhodesian Broadcast Corporation occupied the nextdoor building.
Operating in a country under United Nations International Sanctions from 1965, which prevented free trade with the major broadcast manufacturers of the world, RTV electronic engineers had to be particularly resourceful to keep the station on air. This led to constant sanction busting by the directors to ensure that vital equipment could be replaced and that a good stock of spares and consumables could be maintained.
The station initially operated 'live-to-air' as it had no facility for videotape recording. Imported light entertainment and documentary content was sourced from 16mm film and broadcast live from Rank Telecine units. As a result, in the early years, viewers were familiar with seeing the caption 'Please Do Not Adjust Your Set. Normal Programming Will Be Resumed As Soon As Possible' when the 'technical gremlins' upset the broadcast flow.
A small group of programme Producers and their Director/Vision Mixers organised weekly and sometimes daily studio productions. Transmissions opened at 17:00 and ran until just after the late-night news. The British national anthem would be broadcast at station opening and again at closedown.
The studio production crew most often consisted of three cameramen, a single audio operator and two African floor managers. There was also the small set design and creation team in the props area. On occasion, the station would host a broadcast from the Prime Minister, other government ministers, or foreign dignitaries, whereupon the studio staff would turn up in jackets and ties in stark contrast to the regular shorts and tee shirts.
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Rhodesia Television
Rhodesia Television (RTV) was a live-broadcast, television station operating in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as a private company. It was established on the 14th of November, 1960, first in Salisbury (now Harare), with transmissions in Bulawayo beginning seven months later. It was only the fourth TV service in Africa after Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt, and the first such service in southern Africa, since South Africa did not introduce television until 1976.
RTV broadcast on behalf of the then Federal Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), with its major shareholders being South African companies, including the Argus Group of newspapers, parent company of the Rhodesia Herald, and Davenport and Meyer, which also operated LM Radio, based in Mozambique. Broadcasts started on 15 November 1960. RTV was funded by advertising, sponsored programmes and a television licence fee. Television reception was confined mainly to large cities, and most viewers were whites. In its first decade, broadcasts were received in Salisbury on channel 4 and Bulawayo on channel 3. Umtali (now Mutare) only received television in 1972, by which time it was estimated that more than 90 per cent of the white population had access to the service. By 1973, RTV was broadcasting 42 hours a week from three transmitters.
The station originally provided live monochrome news and entertainment and was instrumental in maintaining public morale after the nation's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965 and during the subsequent Rhodesian Bush War, when the country gained its independence. The first programming created for the majority black viewership was introduced when RTV was taken over by the Rhodesian government in 1976, becoming RBC TV, when the Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) initially acquired a 51 per cent stake in the service.
Occupying a position high in the hills above the Salisbury racecourse, the Pockets Hill television station was built just a few metres away from its original 'Alexandra Palace-style' transmitter mast. This was later replaced by a much taller, guyed structure. The HQ of the Rhodesian Broadcast Corporation occupied the nextdoor building.
Operating in a country under United Nations International Sanctions from 1965, which prevented free trade with the major broadcast manufacturers of the world, RTV electronic engineers had to be particularly resourceful to keep the station on air. This led to constant sanction busting by the directors to ensure that vital equipment could be replaced and that a good stock of spares and consumables could be maintained.
The station initially operated 'live-to-air' as it had no facility for videotape recording. Imported light entertainment and documentary content was sourced from 16mm film and broadcast live from Rank Telecine units. As a result, in the early years, viewers were familiar with seeing the caption 'Please Do Not Adjust Your Set. Normal Programming Will Be Resumed As Soon As Possible' when the 'technical gremlins' upset the broadcast flow.
A small group of programme Producers and their Director/Vision Mixers organised weekly and sometimes daily studio productions. Transmissions opened at 17:00 and ran until just after the late-night news. The British national anthem would be broadcast at station opening and again at closedown.
The studio production crew most often consisted of three cameramen, a single audio operator and two African floor managers. There was also the small set design and creation team in the props area. On occasion, the station would host a broadcast from the Prime Minister, other government ministers, or foreign dignitaries, whereupon the studio staff would turn up in jackets and ties in stark contrast to the regular shorts and tee shirts.