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Television and radio · Saint Kitts and Nevis

ZIZ

ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, which describes itself as the National Broadcasting Corporation of St. Kitts & Nevis: ZIZ Radio since 5 March 1961 and ZIZ Television, Channel 5, since 1972, by its own account.
✓ Last reviewed: September 2026
CompanyZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, which calls itself the National Broadcasting Corporation of St. Kitts & Nevis
ServicesZIZ Radio 96.1 FM; Big Wave 96.7 FM; ZIZ Television, Channel 5 (own site)
On airRadio 5 March 1961; television 3 December 1972, per ZIZ’s own history
Origin, own accounta public service broadcasting service owned and operated by the Government, as ZIZ describes the 1950s plan
Web locationzizonline.com; sports news in the category zizonline.com/category/sports
Ownership, government sourceZIZ Radio called “The state-owned radio station” in a Prime Minister’s Press Unit release published by SKNIS, 5 March 2021

What is ZIZ?

ZIZ is the ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation. Its own site describes it as “The National Broadcasting Corporation of St. Kitts & Nevis — on the airwaves since 1961.” It lists three services: ZIZ Radio on 96.1 FM, Big Wave on 96.7 FM and ZIZ Television on Channel 5, which it calls “The People's station since 1972.”[1]

ZIZ's radio history states that “Initially the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund identified the sum of £16,000 for the establishment of a Public Service Broadcasting Service owned and operated by the Government.”[3] That sentence describes the plan behind the station's founding. ZIZ's own pages retrieved state no current ownership structure and cite no act; no act establishing ZIZ was located in the Law Commission's revised-edition index to 31 December 2020.[8] A release of the Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, published by SKNIS on 5 March 2021, opens: “The state-owned radio station, ZIZ Radio, is today, Friday, March 05, celebrating its 60th anniversary of broadcasting in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.”[9]

ZIZ publishes its news, including a sports category, on zizonline.com.[4]

What does ZIZ cover?

As retrieved on 26 September 2026, the sports category of zizonline.com led with football and also carried cricket.[4]

National team. ZIZ reported on 26 September 2026 that Saint Kitts and Nevis beat Bonaire 2–1 at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre in League B, Group C, of the 2026/27 Concacaf Nations League, with two goals from Tiquanny Williams.[5]

Domestic football. Its report of 22 September 2026 on the third round of the “2026-'27 SKNFA/National Bank Group Premier League” opens: “Honda Newtown United and SL Horsford St. Paul's United each made it three straight wins to start the 2026-'27 SKNFA/National Bank Group Premier League.”[6]

Franchise cricket. ZIZ reported on 11 September 2026: “The Barbados Tridents boosted their play-off hopes with a four-wicket win over the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), a result that eliminates the Patriots from contention.”[7]

Television. ZIZ's television page lists Action Sports among its live programmes.[2]

How large is ZIZ's audience?

No audience-measurement body publishing ratings, readership or audited web traffic for Saint Kitts and Nevis was found, and Reporters Without Borders publishes no country page for Saint Kitts and Nevis at the address its country pages use. No audience figure for ZIZ's radio, television or website is given here.

ZIZ's own history gives two technical markers of reach. It states that “In 1973, recognising the value of reaching a more discerning audience with a variety of programmes, the management of ZIZ embarked on transmissions on its FM frequency”, and that “By 1975, equipment had been purchased to increase the power of the radio station to 10,000 watts and to establish a studio in Charlestown, Nevis.”[3] Those are statements of transmitter power, not of audience.

ZIZ's television page states a 24-hour schedule and describes its programming as 90 per cent local; that is the broadcaster's own description.[2]

Since when has ZIZ existed?

ZIZ's own chronology heads its entry for 5 March 1961 “ZIZ goes on air” and states: “The station is officially opened by Lord Hailes, Governor-General of the West Indies Federation, and begins transmitting 6–9 p.m. nightly.”[1] Its radio history puts the same date as: “On Sunday, the 5th March 1961 the project became a reality.”[3]

Its television page dates ZIZ Television to “3 December 1972”, and its home page dates Big Wave to 2004.[2][1] The Prime Minister's Press Unit release published by SKNIS on 5 March 2021 states that the radio station of ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation “officially came into operation on Sunday, March 05, 1961.”[9] The 1972 and 2004 dates are ZIZ's own account; no second source for them was retrieved.

Why does ZIZ matter in Saint Kitts and Nevis's sport?

ZIZ describes itself as the national broadcasting corporation, and its history links its early audience to sport: it states that through the BBC came “live commentary of World Cup and Test cricket”.[1] Its radio history adds: “Who did not look forward to the thrill of listening to commentaries of World Cup and Test cricket matches in a village shop with his or her friends?”[3]

In September 2026 its sports category reported the national football team's Concacaf Nations League match, the SKNFA's Premier League and the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League.[5][6][7] It also carried a report on St. Kitts under-19 cricketers returning from a Cricket West Indies camp.[4]

References

  1. ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation — About us (chronology: 1961, 1972, 2004; services). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  2. ZIZ — About ZIZ TV (3 December 1972; Channel 5; programme list). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  3. ZIZ — About ZIZ Radio (5 March 1961; FM from 1973; 10,000 watts by 1975; cricket commentary). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  4. ZIZ — Sports category (headlines as retrieved 26 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  5. ZIZ — Sugar Boyz Open Nations League with 2-1 Win Over Bonaire (26 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  6. ZIZ — Newtown, St. Paul’s Share Top Spot SKNFA Premier League (22 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  7. ZIZ — Patriots Eliminated From Play-Offs After Tridents Loss (11 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  8. St. Kitts and Nevis Law Commission — Laws of Saint Christopher and Nevis, General Index, revised edition as at 31 December 2020 (PDF). Accessed 2026-09-26.
  9. SKNIS — Prime Minister Harris salutes ZIZ Radio as a symbol of national pride on its 60th anniversary (Press Unit, Office of the Prime Minister, 5 March 2021). Accessed 2026-09-26.