The Zimpapers Group, which was awarded four radio licenses for Star FM, Diamond FM, Capitalk, and Nyaminyami FM, and recently One Digital TV license, has only generated 20 per cent of revenue from its radio and television operations. While financials appear to be in good shape, with a year-to-date revenue increase of 94 per cent to US$ 2.29 million (inflation-adjusted), the radio stations have only contributed 16 per cent of this revenue, and ZTN, which is mainly social media at the moment, has only contributed 4 per cent.
The radio broadcasting operations with over 1 million social media admirers, accounting for more than half of the company’s total digital traffic, are inversely contributing to its revenue share. Zimpapers account for over 50 per cent of 1,155 million followers, while the newspaper operations account for 43 per cent, with 988 000 followers.
The digital section within their Digital and Print division has generated the most revenue for Zimpapers, with a whopping 75 per cent revenue share. Mr Pikirayi Deketeke, chief executive of Zimpapers Group, said the number of visits to the group’s websites had reached one million, with 14 customer-facing sites and revenue from digital platforms running US$ 44 211,1 this year, driven primarily by ZTN’s online programs. However, because the Youtube channel now has limited visitor traction, it was unclear which ZTN site was bringing in such revenue.
Mr Matanhire said the company’s commercial printing division (CPD) and its embryonic television project, Zimbabwe Television Network (ZTN), contributed 4 per cent each, while Bold-Ads contributed only 1 per cent.
