Founded in 1964, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is the public broadcaster in Malawi and the sole broadcast outlet with nationwide coverage. It runs one television channel and two radio channels. It is headquartered in Blantyre.
Media assets
Television: Malawi TV
Radio: Radio 1, Radio 2
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
MBC is a State state-owned entity (SOE), according to a 2020 report from the local finance ministry. According to the 2016 Communications Act, MBC is governed by a board of directors who are majority appointed by the country’s president. According to the act, the Board consists of five full members and four ex-officio members. The five full members, including the chairperson, are appointed by the President. The board appoints the director of the broadcaster. The current director general is George Kasakula.
Source of funding and budget
According to the 1998 Communications Act, MBC should be funded through government appropriations, grants, and commercial revenues. A 2020 report from the Malawian Ministry of Finance indicates that MBC is mostly funded by the government. In the financial year 2020-2021, the government subsidy accounted for 63% of the MBC’s total budget, according to the latest available report on SOEs from the Malawian finance ministry. The rest was generated through ad sales and tax collection. In 2021, MBC suffered a loss of MWK 421.1m (US$ 513,000), a decline from the year before when the broadcaster registered an excess of MWK 60.6m (US$ 80,000).
Editorial independence
In Malawi, freedom of the press is legally guaranteed by the constitution and the media field is regulated by several laws, the key ones being the 1998 and 2016 Communications Acts. The latest communication act puts forward several legal provisions on MBC’s independence. Yet, the public broadcasting provider is regularly accused of being biased in favor of the president and government, and of withholding opposition airtime. In 2021, MISA Malawi, an NGO, pointed out that “Malawians continue to complain about the partisan nature of programming by the public broadcaster.” Public Media Alliance also noted in 2020 that it is not uncommon to hear accusations of political interference at MBC.
No independent assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate MBC’s editorial independence has been identified.
June 2024