Public broadcaster of the Republic of Mauritius
The
Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
(
MBC
) is the national
state broadcaster
of the
Republic of Mauritius
, that is the islands of Mauritius,
Rodrigues
, and
Agalega
. The historical headquarters in
Curepipe
were relocated in
Reduit, Moka
. It also operates a station in Rodrigues. The MBC programmes are broadcast in 12 languages, notably
French
,
Creole
,
English
,
Hindi
,
Urdu
,
Bhojpuri
,
Tamil
,
Telugu
,
Marathi
,
Mandarin
/
Cantonese
, and
Hakka
. MBC provides 17 television channels in Mauritius, four in Rodrigues and two in Agalega, as well as seven radio channels.
[1]
Overview
[
edit
]
The MBC operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office. It is established as a body corporate under Act No. 7 of 1964. According to the provisions of the Act, its main objectives are to provide independent and impartial broadcasting services of information, education, culture, and entertainment in different languages taught or spoken in the country, and to ensure that the broadcasting services cater for the aspirations, needs, and tastes of the population in the matters of information, education, culture, and entertainment.
[2]
Opposition parties and media commentators often criticise the MBC for pro-government bias.
[3]
The MBC is a member of the Association des Radios et Televisions de l’Ocean Indien (ARTOI),
Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
, and an associate member at the
European Broadcasting Union
, the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
, and the South African Broadcasting Association and of the Conseil International des Radios-Televisions d’Expression Francaise.
List of MBC channels
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Radio
[
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]
Initial name
|
Rebrand
|
Date launched
|
Frequency
|
Notes
|
Radio Maurice
|
None
|
Not known
|
684 kHz (North), 684 kHz (South), 68 kHz (East), 684 kHz (Centre)
|
|
Radio Mauritius
|
None
|
Not known
|
819 kHz (North), 819 kHz (South), 819 kHz (East), 819 kHz (Centre)
|
|
Best FM (Mauritius)
|
None
|
October 2010
|
103.5MHz (North), 96.4 MHz (South), 96.4 MHz (East/West), 99.4 MHz (Center)
|
|
Kool FM
|
None
|
Dec 1989
|
91.7 MHz (North), 89.3 MHz (South), 91.7 MHz (East), 97.3 MHz (Centre)
|
|
Music FM
|
NRJ Maurice
|
14 May 2018
|
92.7 MHz (North), 94.9 MHz (South), 94.9 MHz (East), 90.8 MHz (Centre)
|
|
Taal FM
|
None
|
Aug 1995
|
98.2 MHz (North), 95.6 MHz (South), 94.0 MHz (Centre)
|
|
Rodrigues FM
|
None
|
Not known
|
|
|
History
[
edit
]
The MBC was established as a body corporate on 8 June 1964 under the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation Ordinance no. 7 (1964). Previously it operated as a government service under the name of Mauritius Broadcasting Service.
The original ordinance establishing the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation was amended and consolidated by Acts of Parliament: Act no. 65 of 1970, Act no. 22 of 1982, and Act no. 65 of 1985. These amendments were necessary to accommodate interalia changes at both technological and social levels as well as to satisfy the aspirations of all segments of the Mauritian nation.
TV broadcasts started on a pilot basis in 1964 with the installation of three repeater stations at Fort George, Mount Therese, and Jurancon. On 8 February 1965, television was officially launched with a daily evening transmission of about three hours. The first live local program was broadcast on the occasion of the visit of
Princess Alexandra
in 1968.
The phasing out process of black and white television started in 1973 and indeed the OCAMM Conference which was held at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in the same year was broadcast live in colour (
SECAM
system). By 1978 the MBC was fully equipped for the broadcast of colour programs. The MBC started its operation in
Rodrigues
on 7 November 1987. A second channel was launched on 30 July 1990, the
MBC 2
. The MBC 3 became operational in March 1996.
In 2005, the MBC was the first public television broadcaster in Africa to launch Digital Terrestrial Television channels. In 2007, the MBC also extended its digitalized service to the islands of
Rodrigues
and
Agalega
.
[4]
In 2011, the MBC moved from its former headquarters in
Forest Side, Curepipe
to Moka. The Bhojpuri Channel and Senn Kreol were launched in January 2013.
In 2012, the President of the Republic stated that the MBC is run with a mindset of unfairness, partiality, and is not worthy of a democratic nation.
[5]
On 14 November 2016, MBC rebranded the logo of its 17 channels and introduced a standardised logo with different colour variations for each channel. Additionally, new onscreen graphics were introduced.
MBC broadcasts many of its own shows, promoting the country and the physical and mental health of the people of Mauritius.
On 1 December 2016, the MBC released the MBC play
[6]
app, which is still under development, on the Google Play Store, allowing users around the globe to stream live TV and radio channels of the corporation. Later, after releasing a stable version, this app is also expected to be available through the Apple App Store.
MBC board and senior management
[
edit
]
- Premode Neerunjun, Chairman of the MBC Board
- Moonendra Nudhi Sharma (Anooj) Ramsurrun, Director-General of the MBC
- Kavish Pultoo, ex-officio member on the MBC Board, Director Information Services at the Government Information Services
- Vijay Chandreeka Ah Ku, board member
- Avinash Venkama, board member
- Jason Maulette, board member
- M.S. Nahaboo Solim, board member
[7]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
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Active
members
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Associate
members
| |
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Approved
participants
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