Fanuel Viriri
4 July 2009
TROUBLED Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) will not be able to go it alone in the live coverage of Monomotapa's African Champions League group stages matches starting on July 19 after Dynamos lost out due to the poor broadcasting.
Worried by reports that last year's Champions League campaigners Dynamos had US$242 358 wiped out after ZBC failed to meet the Confederation of African Football (CAF Form 5) stringent broadcasting requirements, Monomotapa met ZBC executives during three "crises meetings".
Monomotapa executives told the national broadcaster to "sub-contract some of the work" and "hire modern equipment".
David Makombe, the Monomotapa secretary said the club met the national broadcaster, ZBC and agreed that "third parties" would have to be involved in the live broadcast of the money-spinning matches.
"We are aware of the situation at ZBC but we have agreed that a third party will come for the live broadcast. Zimbabwe Cricket has also agreed to rent out their OB (Outside broadcasting) van. They have also given us the rates. The agreements are confidential but third parties are definitely coming in," Makombe said.
Dynamos had a chunk of their Champions League proceeds docked after ZBC botched the live transmission of the matches. DeMbare, who reached the semi-final stage before bowing out to Cameroon outfit Cotonsport Garoua, had been expecting to receive $412 500 from CAF.
But the continental body paid the popular Harare side half that amount last year. CAF later indicated that there would be no further remittance of money to Dynamos as the balance (US$242 358) had gone to cover the production costs of the television coverage of their home matches against Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, Cotonsport and the Egyptian pair of Zamalek and Al Ahly.
According to CAF broadcasting requirements (Form 5) the national broadcaster should provide one OB van with six cameras as minimum, video mixer, character generator, one ADO channel (effects), power generator and three tape recorders with at least two slow motions and one for master recording among other requirements.
However, ZBC failed to meet most of the requirements including running the MTN CAF Champions League advertisements.
ZBC's parent -- Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity signed the agreement on their behalf.
Monomotapa's fairy tale run in the Champions League continues in the group stages, when they collide with Tunisia's Etoile Sportive du Sahel at Rufaro on July 19. The Zimbabwean representatives will fly out for a date against Nigeria's Heartland on August 2 and Democratic Republic Congo's TP Mazembe on August 16.
They will play home matches against TP Mazembe on August 30 and Heartland on September 20 at which the national broadcaster will beam the matches, but the Harare club fear that they might have all their efforts going up in smoke as ZBC do not have the capacity for a live broadcast, which meet international standards.
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