application made by the Station. IBA granted the license and wrote to the Station as follows9: I wish to inform you that the board of Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) at its 20th special meeting held on 17th August 2021 did consider your application pursuant to Sections 21 and 22 of the IBA (Amendment) Act No 26 of 2010. Note that the Content Service Provider License is granted subject to the following terms and conditions. i. Payment of License Fee of Twenty Thousand Kwacha (K20,000) valid for the duration of the License (7 years). ii. Payment of Annual Operating Fees of Twenty Thousand Kwacha (K20,000) due on 1st January of each year, starting in 2021 if the station would commence broadcasting within 2021. iii. Adherence to Section 29 of the IBA (Amendment) Act No. 26 of 2010. iv. Commencement of Broadcasting within a hundred and twenty (days) from the time of recipient of this offer in accordance with Section 29(1) (c) of the IBA (Amendment) Act No. 26 of 2010. v. Adherence to Section 28 of the IBA (Amendment) Act No. 26 of 2010 on License renewal. vi. Being carried by an authorized signal distributor The matter involving the eventual closure of Prime Television is comprehensively articulated and analysed in the 1st and 2nd Quarter, 2020 State of the Media Reports. The debacle was triggered after a breakdown in relations between the government and Prime TV which led to the former “blacklisting” the Station. This resulted in various punitive actions-later leading to the closure of the Station, though the IBA cited license renewal technicalities as the reason. The issues surrounding the Station’s relations with government as well as the apparent lack of due process in how the Station’s matters were handled cast aspersions on the attributed reasons for closure of the Station. 9 As carried in the News Diggers Newspaper on 18th August, 2021. See IBA reinstates Prime TV’s license – Zambia: News Diggers! 20