Azam Media is a prominent Tanzanian media company best known for its digital satellite television platform—Azam TV—and associated entertainment and sports channels. Since its launch in 2013, Azam Media has rapidly become a leading regional broadcaster, offering affordable pay-TV services across Tanzania and several other East African countries. Its content spans news, sports, movies, music, and general entertainment, with a strong focus on Swahili-language programming.
While not state-owned, Azam Media is widely seen as state-aligned. It consistently avoids political controversy, refrains from broadcasting critical content about the government, and focuses heavily on entertainment and soft news, steering clear of investigative journalism or political commentary.
Media assets
Television: Azam TV, Azam Sports HD, Sinema Zetu
Radio: Azam FM
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
Azam Media is a subsidiary of the Bakhresa Group, one of East Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates, owned by Said Salim Bakhresa, a Tanzanian billionaire. The group has substantial business interests in food manufacturing, transport, real estate, and hospitality, which gives it significant exposure to—and reliance on—government goodwill and regulatory stability.
Although privately owned, Azam Media’s editorial caution and business proximity to the state have led many analysts to classify it as politically compliant and economically risk-averse. The company does not disclose its editorial leadership structure or governance charter publicly.
Source of funding and budget
While the company is commercially funded, it benefits from a favorable regulatory and business environment, and reportedly maintains good relations with ruling CCM party officials, which contributes to its editorial neutrality on political matters. No audited financials or shareholder reports are made public.
Azam Media derives its revenue from a combination of: Pay-TV subscriptions (via Azam TV’s set-top box model), advertising and sponsorships, content licensing and syndication and government and corporate contracts (particularly for broadcasting state events or public service messages).
Editorial independence
Azam Media’s editorial content is primarily non-political. Its programming avoids controversial or investigative reporting and largely centers on: entertainment (movies, music, reality shows), live sports (especially Tanzanian Premier League), cultural programming and family-friendly content and light human-interest stories and celebrity news.
While not overtly propagandistic, Azam Media has no record of challenging the status quo or offering dissenting viewpoints. News coverage, where it exists, is either neutral or slanted toward government-sanctioned narratives.
There is no known editorial charter, and no independent oversight body tasked with enforcing ethical or journalistic standards.
June 2025