Commercial radio superstar Tbo Touch has been appointed acting CEO of Soweto TV.
Tbo Touch, who owns digital radio station Touch HD, has been tasked with repositioning the channel to grow its viewership from 1.8 million to 2.9 million by the end of this year.
Speaking to Sunday World on Friday, the former Metro FM Drive Time show host confirmed that he was now in pole position at the popular kasi TV channel. He said as part of his turnaround strategy, he will introduce documentary series, reality TV shows and soapies that resonate with the local market.
“Gone are the days where you bombard locals with BBC and Fox content. People want to consume local content that resonates with them,” he said.
Tbo Touch, real name Thabo Molefe, also said he would get rid of what he termed ‘false prophet’ shows that were flighted on the channel.
“We will only beam shows from churches that are properly registered and have certificates and are compliant with the regulations of the CRL Commission.
Those that are not regulated will unfortunately not see the light of day,” he said.
The entertainer said he will also introduce documentaries chronicling Soweto’s icons. He said the channel had acquired high quality equipment to compete with their rivals.
“We are now shooting our shows with 4k camer – as, which are high-end cameras that produce high quality pictures better than the high-definition cameras. This will enable us to compete with all the channels or be on par with them,” he said.
The station, he added, has partnered with his company Touch HD, which owns his radio station, Touch HD. It will produce certain content on Soweto TV’s behalf.
“The briefs of the content will be broadcast on Touch HD while the channel will broadcast full versions. That is why we need writers. People must start applying for jobs. We need to write or tell our own history to be produced by local people.”
He also said the channel has organised a soccer tournament where soccer legends will play against local celebrities at Soweto Nike Stadium on September 24.
“We will broadcast that match on our channel. People must come see Zodwa Wabantu, Khanyi Mbau, Cassper Nyovest, Simphiwe Tshabalala and others play soccer,” he said.
By Ngwako Malatji
