systems; to provide for progr amme standards; to regulate and licens e signal carriers;
to encourage and develop the creative arts through broadcasting content standards; to
create a sense of national
identity through broadcasting services; to create a
Broadcasting Fund to help finance local br oadcasting and for related purposes; and to
provide for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing.
ENACTED by the President and the Parliament of Zimbabwe.
[Date of commencement: 4th April, 2001 – but see section 47(4).]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1
Title
This Act may be cited as the Broadcasting Services Act [Chapter 12:06].
2
Interpretation
(1) In this Act—
“advertising agent” means a person whose sole or principal business is the making o r
placing of commercial advertisements on behalf of others;
“apparatus”, in relation to broadcasting apparatus, mean s apparatus constructed o r
adapted for use in transmitting or receiving broadcasting services;
“applicant” means an applicant for a licence;
“Authority” means the Broadcasting Author ity of Zimbabwe es tablished by section
three;
“Board” means the Broadcasting Authorit y of Zimbabwe Board established by
section four;
“broadcasting licence” means a broadcasting licence issued in terms of section ten;
“broadcasting service” means any servic e which delivers te levision or radio
programmes to persons having equipment appropriate for receiving that service,
whether the delivery is effected by mean s of or uses the radiofrequency spectrum,
cable, optical fibre, satellite or any other means or a comb ination of those means, and
includes any of the services re ferred to in paragraphs (a) to ( j) of subsection (2) o f
section seven;
“broadcasting service bands” means—
(a)
that part of the electromagnetic radiof requency spectrum which is
allocated to the Authority by the Post al and Telecommunicat ions Authority fo r
planning and allocation for broadcasting purposes in terms of this Act; and
(b)
designated to be such by the Minister by notice in the Gazette;
“broadcasting station” means a radio or te levision transmitting station used for the
purposes of carrying on a broadcasting service;
“broadcasting system” includes a signal carrier or radio tr ansmitting station used fo r
the purpose of transmitting a broadcasting service;
“cable broadcasting servi ce” means a broadcasting
service which transmits
programmes by means of
a telecommunication serv ice, other than a
radiocommunication service, as defined in the Postal and Telecommunications Act
[Chapter 12:05], for reception at two or mo re places, whether simultaneously or at
different times;
“commercial broadcasting s ervice” means a free-to-air (radio or television)
broadcasting service operated for profit or
as part of a prof it-making enterprise
which—
(a)
is intended or appears to be intended to a ppeal to the general public;
and
(b)
is capable of being received by commonly available equipment; and
(c)
otherwise complies with a ny classification criteria that may be
applicable to such a service in terms of subsection (2);
“commercial radio broadcasting s ervice” means a commercial audio- broadcasting
service;
“commercial television broadcasting s ervice” means an audio- visual commercial
broadcasting service;