TCRA warns broadcasters over content regulation breaches
TCRA director general, Dr Jabiri Bakari. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- According to the report, only six out of the 16 monitored television stations followed their submitted schedules. Of these, 12 stations had actually submitted their schedules for review.
Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has issued a warning to broadcasting service providers who violate content regulations, emphasising its commitment to enforcing regulatory and supervisory measures.
In a statement released yesterday, the TCRA highlighted ongoing non-compliance issues among television service providers, including failures to adhere to scheduled programming and the required duration for news broadcasts.
This warning was part of a new communication status report for Tanzania, presented last week by TCRA Director General Dr Jabiri Bakari.
The report confirmed violations based on the monitoring of 16 licensed television channels and 12 licensed radio stations between October and December 2024.
“The TCRA’s licensing process for radio and television content requires applicants to demonstrate how they will ensure program quality and contribute to the social economy. Additionally, broadcasters are obligated to submit a program schedule in advance and strictly adhere to it,” the statement read.
The schedules must detail the time, order, and number of programs to be aired.
According to the report, only six out of the 16 monitored television stations followed their submitted schedules. Of these, 12 stations had actually submitted their schedules for review.
Despite the shortcomings in scheduling, service providers performed well in delivering local content. Current regulations mandate that at least 60 percent of content must be local, with a particular focus on educational programming.
However, the monitoring results show an improvement compared to September 2024 when all 12 radio stations assessed were found to have violated the requirement to follow their submitted schedules.
In a separate development, more than 12,896 SIM cards have been blacklisted and deactivated over the last three months due to involvement in dubious activities, including online criminal offenses.
Reports indicate that incidents of phone fraud have decreased by 19 percent, with the number of blacklisted SIM cards dropping from 16,002 between July and September 2024 to 12,896 between October and December.
Rukwa Region recorded the highest number of phone scam attempts, with 5,305 incidents, followed by Morogoro (4,278), Mbeya (930), Dar es Salaam (765), Katavi (281), Arusha (260), Songwe (150), Mwanza (132), and Tabora (122).
