When Robert Marawa was axed from SuperSport, speculation began as to where he would move to. But the sports anchor and reporter had other ideas, deciding to start his own venture, an online TV platform called Marawa TV.
“I always wanted to be in the media space of owning and having a TV show and a TV channel, but it was maybe not now in 2019. But I had plans underfoot. But it was the African Cup of Nations, being in Egypt to do a breakfast event, which turned out to be me and my broadcasting side, being hungry to do what a broadcaster would do,” he explains.
In-the-moment content
A trend which has helped Marawa’s new venture take off, and which is being seen in the broader media landscape, is in-the-moment content.
“People are not there to critique and say ‘it’s bad quality’. It’s about the moments, because content is so important. The questions that you ask are so important. Now, when we look at the people subscribing and who want to be part of this and investing in it, this has fast tracked itself,” he says.
#MarawaMoments has driven the reach of his content on social media, allowing Marawa TV to grow at a rapid pace.
The future of broadcasting
Marawa was speaking to The Media Online on the sidelines of CliffCentral’s ‘A few brave broadcasters’ roundtable discussion. The event focused primarily on the future of broadcasting, with Marawa commenting, “I’m an ideas person. I’m a creative person … How do I make my radio show better? How do I make my TV show better? How do I make it unique? How do I make it something that hasn’t been done before? That’s how I look at things.”
He adds that “people are instantaneous. They want to hear and see now and then move onto something else.”
With the uptake of Marawa TV so far, it seems people are liking what he is doing, which is set to only grow with Marawa promising that “the ideas and plans are massive and exclusive”.
