TBC1

TBC 1 is the national service television channel. It is the television counterpart of TBC Taifa in that it is mandated to carry the original mandate of public broadcasting. Just like TBC Taifa, 75% of its programmes is supposed to be about information and education and only 25% about entertainment. Therefore the main objectives of TBC1 is to educate and inform the audience on major national issues like in the TBC Taifa.

According to the Tanzania Media Measurement report by GeoPoll, with audience statistics for quarter of 2, 2018, TBC One’s audience share is at 9.49%. This means it is ranked fifth among all TV stations.

It is not registered at the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA). It belongs to the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, which is the only public broadcaster on Tanzania mainland. It is a public corporation established under the Public Corporation Act, 1992 to provide a public service broadcasting through radio and television. TBC is owned by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania through the Treasury Register, a department within the Ministry of Finance, that holds 100 percent of shares. The interest of the government is to use TBC to reinforce government’s efforts in nation-building. Consequently, the Government expects TBC to be its mouthpiece rather than speak independently and objectively.

One result could be the handling of sources: TBC 1 heavily (57%) uses arguments of authorities as sources. This showed a media quality study commissioned by Media Council of Tanzania (MCT). It also claimed that around half of the news items had a good structure – which is above average for the TV segment. TBC 1 also presents female voices in every second article.