Shows like Pula Power, Flava Dome and Mokaragana aim to entertain Botswana nationwide through popular music.

[8] A 1988 feasibility study report issued by the International Telecommunication Union suggested that Botswana should operate a small-scale commercial television station.

The recommendations suggested that the television service should foster a national identity, as an educational tool and increase awareness of health and modern farming.

[9] A new report in March 1992 contradicted the ITU's plan and showed a much cheaper option, a service whose rollout was phased, with a small news and current affairs unit.

Similar to the ITU feasibility study, the new report suggested the creation of television viewing centres, starting with secondary schools.

Advertising fees would cover the cost of the service over a fifteen-year period, and there was the possibility of starting satellite broadcasts by 2007 (the technology available would come sooner than expected).

A new alternative was sketched out by the Television Reference Group, suggesting a production house that would feed programming to small booster stations in Gaborone, Jwaneng, Morupule, Selebi-Phikwe, Francistown and Orapa.

The DIB also said that the new service wouldn't act as an embarrassment to viewers who relied on "superior" programming from the SABC channels and M-Net, both from South Africa.

By November 2000, months after BTV had started broadcasting, the DABS had extended the completion of the Mass Media Complex by the end of 2000.

Makgekgenene brought two consultants from BBC Resources (David Manning and Liz Duckworth) to provide basic support in all fields needed for the station to operate properly.

Had it went past the strategy of being an entertainment channel, it would rely on expensive foreign programming rights with the goal of competing against SABC and M-Net.

The channel was given the go ahead to carry commercial advertising and sponsorships for some of its programmes; the news was exempt from such to assure its independent status.

[4] Precisely on its launch day, Ted Mekgegenene, resigned from his post as Botswana's Director of Information and Broadcasting.

[21] The first full day of operations - 1 August 2000 - started symbolically with the BTV news in Setswana, followed by an interview with Tebelelo Seretse and a charity event.

Its child stars, Marang Molosiwa, Rea Kopi, Phenyo Mogampane and StaXx have gone onto careers based on this early experience.

With film and television production standards still considered "infantile", BTV rejected the screening of the 13-episode drama series Flat 101, which was eventually picked up by GBC TV.

[4] BTV slowly removed some foreign programmes in order to try to improve its image as a broadcaster delivering Botswanan content.

The lack of quality local content and the monopoly imposed by the state forced Batswana to lure away from the channel and watch South African terrestrial networks using Philibao satellite receivers.

[26] The removal of some popular international programmes such as Dr. Phil, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Passions and WWE Raw, as well as football, infuriated the viewers, while others saw that such acts hampered BTV's development.

[citation needed] BTV is the first station in Africa and the second in the world after ITN (UK-based Independent Television News) to fully use digital technology.

[30] Its signal is carried on the Intelsat 20 satellite with a significant footprint, which covers the whole country, and most of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

The station is fully Serial Digital Video, 4:3 and 16:9 switchable, but with the flexibility of analogue with dual language stereo capabilities.

To cover the wide area of the country, two satellite News Gathering (SNG) teams are based in the North and North-West - Francistown and Maun respectively.