Harare — A new dawn has come for Zimbabwean local television viewers. Baker's Inn in partnership with ZBCTV have launched a new television season that will see ZTV 1 screening different programmes stretching over a year.

This follows the acquiring of rights to the tune of US$300 000 for local television to screen over 200 blockbuster movies, cartoons and soaps such as seen on DSTV to give its customers a wider range of movies for the forthcoming festive season.

Speaking at the launch of the new television season ZBC chief executive officer Mr Happison Muchechetere said people should forget about DSTV subscriptions, since ZBC was now providing world class viewing. "This partnership goes a long way in mitigating viewer flight and we thank Baker's Inn for coming up with such a noble initiative," said Mr Muchechetere.

According to the programming information provided at the launch, ZBC is now going to be screening soaps like Tinsel, Jacob's Cross during the week and the Tinsel omnibus on Saturdays. For kids, ZBCTV1 would be screening cartoons like Robinhood, The Jungle box, Fantasy Island and many others.

The sponsorship by Baker's Inn is set to go a long way in reviving Zimbabwean television with the screening not of only blockbuster films but world class comedies and magazines to give the viewers a chance to interact with their stars.

ZBCTV manager Mr Walter Mufanochiya said: "We are going to be ahead of SABC and some DSTV channels in the screening of Tinsel and Jacob's Cross."

For years, ZBC has had to swallow the bitter pill of watching helplessly their viewers opt for alternative television channels, especially DSTV and the free to air satellites like Wiztech and Filibao.

Although the new initiative is a good initiative, ZBC still needs to address matters of coverage on both of their television and radio channels. Channel 2 TV covers a mere 80-km radius around Harare while ZBCTVI is yet to cover the whole country.