Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation

Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)
Type	Broadcast television,; broadcast radio,; internet website and; streaming media
Country	Mauritius
Availability	Nationwide
Founded	8 June 1964 ; by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Headquarters	Moka, Moka District
Broadcast area	Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga; Worldwide (online with restricted programming)
Owner	Government of Mauritius
Key people	Director General; Vijay Kumar Parmessur
Former names	Mauritius Broadcasting Service
Official website	mbcradio.tv

The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is the national public broadcaster of the Republic of Mauritius, that is the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agaléga. The headquarters of the MBC is found at Réduit, Moka, it also operate a station in Rodrigues. The MBC programmes are broadcast in 12 languages, notably French, Creole, English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Marathi, Mandarin/Cantonese and Hakka, it provides 17 television channels in Mauritius, 4 in Rodrigues and 2 in Agaléga and 7 radio channels.[1]

Overview

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 is 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 Télévisions de l’Océan 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-Télévisions d’Expression Française.

List of MBC Channels

TV Channels

Initial Name	Re-Brand	Date Launched	Notes
MBC 1 (Mauritius)	None	8 June 1964
MBC 2 (Mauritius)	None	30 July 1990
MBC 3 (Mauritius)	None	March 1996
MBC Digital 4	BTV Mauritius	February 2011
Sports 11	YSTV (Mauritius)	2011	Re-branded to YSTV on 18 Avril 2019
Ciné 12	Ciné Tv	2019
Knowledge Channel	Kids Channel (Mauritius)	18 September 2007	Closed on 31 January 2015
Senn Kreol	None	30 January 2013
Bhojpuri Channel	None	30 January 2013
MBC Sat	None	November 13, 2014

Radio Channels

Initial Name	Re-Brand	Date Launched	Frequency
Radio Maurice	None	Not Known	684Khz (North), 684Khz (South), 68Khz (East), 684Khz (Centre)
Radio Mauritius	None	Not Known	819Khz (North), 819Khz (South), 819Khz (East), 819Khz (Centre)
Best FM (Mauritius)	None	October 2010	103.5MHz (North), 96.4MHz (South), 96.4Mhz (East/West), 99.4 MHz (Center)
Kool FM	None	Dec 1989	91.7Mhz (North), 89.3Mhz (South), 91.7Mhz (East), 97.3Mhz (Centre)
Music FM	NRJ Maurice	14 May 2018	92.7Mhz (North), 94.9Mhz (South), 94.9Mhz (East), 90.8 mhz (Centre)
Taal FM	None	Aug 1995	98.2Mhz (North), 95.6Mhz (South), 94.0Mhz (Centre)
Rodrigues FM	None	Not Known

History

It was established as a body corporate on 8 June 1964 under the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation Ordinance no. 7 (1964). Prior to that date 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 Thérése and Jurançon. 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 it 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 extent its digitalized service to the islands of Rodrigues and Agaléga.[4] In 2011, the MBC move from its former headquarter in Forest Side, Curepipe to Moka. The Bhojpuri Channel and Senn Kreol was 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 app, which is still under development, on Google Play Store, allowing users around the globe to stream Live TV & radio channels of the corporation. Later on, after releasing a stable version, this app is also expected to be available on the Apple App Store.

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References

"BROADCASTING SERVICES IN MAURITIUS". Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
"MAURITIUS BROADCASTING CORPORATION" (PDF). Government of Mauritius. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
http://www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/Country_Profile_Mauritius_2014.pdf
"Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Mauritius - History". newmediaforms. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
"Island republic's television stations a "tool of the government," says president - IFEX". IFEX. Retrieved 2017-08-23.

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[1] "BROADCASTING SERVICES IN MAURITIUS". Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

[2] "MAURITIUS BROADCASTING CORPORATION" (PDF). Government of Mauritius. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

[3] ttp://www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/Country_Profile_Mauritius_2014.pdf

[4] "Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in Mauritius - History". newmediaforms. Retrieved 13 February 2013.

[5] "Island republic's television stations a "tool of the government," says president - IFEX". IFEX. Retrieved 2017-08-23.