Multichoice Malawi faults two radio stations on AFCON

The company, which on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, wrote to the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) against the move, won the first round of what could be a long time tussle since the regulatory body has issued a ban on the two broadcasters, Star FM radio and MIJ FM, which belong to the Malawi Institute of Journalism.

While MIJ FM refused to comment on the matter, Star FM Spokesperson Victoria Damalekani was adamant insisting that they are going to disobey the ban and continue rebroadcasting the matches.

Multichoice Malawi sales and marketing manager Chimwemwe Nyirenda insisted that this is illegal.
“Airing, broadcasting or re-broadcasting of AFCON games through Supersport channel without buying rights is illegal,” he said.

“It is our expectation that they would follow them [law and broadcasting obligations],” said MACRA lawyer Bernard Ndau.

While Damalekani insists that they have broadcasting rights from Multichoice, Nyirenda dismissed her claims.