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Unprecedented market conditions and evolving technologies are responsible for the current precarious position of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), says Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
In response to a plenary session of the National Assembly on Tuesday (December 1), Ndabeni-Abrahams said that the national broadcaster was also affected by the state capture.
“A large proportion of the problems are market-related and require (the government) to reshape the SABC as the public broadcaster in a multi-channel and digital environment. (We need) to rebuild the public station that we want. “
Ndabeni-Abrahams said that the problems of national broadcasters are not unique, as broadcasters in Europe and other parts of the world face similar problems.
The minister said that by far the biggest problem for SABC is finding an appropriate funding model, as the current mix of advertising, government subsidies and television license fees cannot meet current demands for content.
He said this has been exacerbated by declining public spending, a challenging Covid-19 environment, and a greater number of players in the sector.
“In keeping with current international trends, the question of designing an appropriate financing model is critical.” He said it is ANC policy that the station is primarily financed by private media.
The government allocated R3.2 billion to SABC in 2019/20, which it received in two tranches: R2.1 billion in October 2019 and R1.1 billion in March 2020.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies also recently highlighted plans to extend the payment of TV license fees to include streaming services.
the proposal it is included in the department’s whitepaper on the Audiovisual and Audio Content Services Policy Framework, which is currently open for public comment.
In terms of the Broadcasting Law, the public is necessary pay a TV license fee to watch “streaming services” that includes subscription services like DSTV. The purchase of a television, regardless of whether the SABC is seen on it or not, requires the payment of a license fee for any “streaming service.”
In the “traditional” sense, a “streaming service” is limited to content viewed on a television.
Given the emergence of streaming services like Netflix, Apple +, Showmax, Amazon Prime, and others, the White Paper expands the definition of a streaming service to include online streaming services.
By implication, that would require paying a license fee to view any “streaming service” that would include streaming services, regardless of what device it is viewed on.
Judicial victory over employment
The South African Labor Court has rejected the request of the Broadcasting, Electronics, Media and Allied Workers Union (BEMAWU) to declare the SABC downsizing process invalid.
The SABC plans to cut up to 400 employees, a number it said must be cut for the company to improve its dire financial situation.
BEMAWU had asked the court to declare the ongoing Section 189 process at the state broadcaster invalid, and also requested the withdrawal of the termination letters sent to SABC employees.
“The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is pleased with today’s ruling by the South African Labor Court, in the matter related to BEMAWU and SABC,” SABC said in a statement.
“The Labor Court dismissed, with costs, BEMAWU’s request to declare the article 189 consultation process irregular and invalid, as well as the withdrawal of the dismissal letters.”
The public broadcaster said that this decision validated its reduction process and demonstrated that the Section 189 process had been procedurally fair and provided all interested parties with a broad opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.
“The SABC conducted 16 consultation sessions over 4 months with multiple stakeholders, 7 of which were facilitated by independent commissioners of the CCMA,” he said.
“The SABC used these sessions as a platform to meaningfully participate in a joint consensus-seeking process. SABC is committed to a fair and transparent process ”.
Read: Government moves to introduce rules on Netflix and other services in South Africa
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