Coalition to protest against SABC's cutting local content

Michael Lee, get a happy meal my man, emotional blackmail won't work!!!!

This move by the SABC is tragic, they should get rid of Outdated International programs that are costing them millions to secure the rights and focus more on our local pool of talent!!!!

How are we going to improve our local content and compete on an international level without the appropriate funding?

This is a chapter in the history of broadcasting in this country. Over the past 10-12 years, the SABC has been the envy of almost all African Public Broadcasters, and in some instances European Public Broadcaster, for its (SABC) ability to broadcast public service programming watched and appreciated by majority of the country's citizens. Based on TVIC statements, the SABC is basically signing-off as a proudly South African/African public broadcaster. What this means is that the SABC will broadcast more Foreign programming-even during the time when a host of international visitors will be in the country for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, dying to experience South Africa in all its forms. One wonders whether this is not a strategy by the SABC to clear its shelves of all the Foreign Programmes that they needlessly purchased as part of the grand Content Enterprises scheme to be the programming distribution centre for all African broadcasters. But, more shameful, is the statement that Ms Libby Lloyd, a former ICASA Councillor and now SABC Interim Board Member, that these measures by the SABC are not going to impact on the Corporations Public Service Mandate Compliance. Can she provide the SABC's Compliance Reports for the last 2 years for the TVIC and the Public to review? Afraid not, even ICASA has not been able to provide them, inspite of the fact that this is one of ICASA's Constitutional Mandate. Sad....very sad indeed!!!

I plan to burn my TV set in solidarity.

I hope this matter is not true, but the SABC Board is so careless in super useless I believe that they just happened to find themselves in this mess. How can they plan such a dengarous move on the lives of our people and leave the foreign contents like the Bold and The Beautiful and so many other programs.

Then its better for people to pay Dstv then you will enjoy your choices. What chance do you have?

The truth of the matter is that the SABC has always had this challenge of striking a balance between fulfilling its mandate as a public brodcaster while at the same time finding other avenues of generating revenues in the face of dwindling state support and license fees.

So while it make sense for the SABC to a create a platform for local content, as an organisation it has to make money and remain profitable.Some people might say The Bold And the Beutiful is crap, but then again how many peolple watch the damn thing(from the last survey I've heard the figure runs into millions),so from a commercial point of view it is still viable and sensible to have it on air.

If(and this is a big if)the local producers were producing a quality product it wouldn't make sense for the SABC to cut their content,so one can perhaps conclude that the are some issues with quality.

Now currently the SABC is going through all these problems with the leadership crisis and financial problems the last thing they need right now is some revolt from these guys.So while one understand their griviences I must question the wisdom in the whole thing.
Quality brodcasting is counted in rands and cents, so until the SABC return to profitability again we should kiss some good television goodbye.

Ms/Mr Molepo comments (......). Tragically some of us do understand the workings of media organisations whether they are are Print, Broadcasting, Outdoor, etc. The reality is that the broadcasting sector is suffering from over 8-10 years of Policy and Regularory neglect from the Department of Communications and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Speak to any Analyst in the sector and they will confirm this fact.

Just a few facts to consider:

i) Since the licensing of eTV in 1998, ICASA has not taken any initiave to introduce more/additional Free-To-Air Television services. Most likely, there are reasons why, but these have not been communicated to the public nor to Commercial entities that believe that they have a space to play in the sector;
ii) In 1997, almost 12 years to date, ICASA/IBA sought to introduce competition to MNet/DSTV, as part of their (ICASA) Constitutional Mandate to make the Broadcasting Sector 'Competitive'. To date, August 2009, it would be fair to say that ICASA has 'dismally failed' in fulfilling its Constitutional Mandate - there is no competitor to DStv/MNet/Naspers in the PayTV sector nor is there any a new Regulatory Framework for Free-To-Air Television Services to compete with eTV as promised in the 'Position Paper for Private Commercial Television Broadcasting Services'issued in by ICASA (para-phrased).

Reality, is that All South African Citizens have or are being taken for a ride by ICASA, the statutory body tasked with making Broadcasting and Communication servies accessible and affordable to majority of South African Citizens - but FAILING to deliver

One is frustrated and lost with the SABC.

The only option is for ONE or MORE individuals asking the SABC and ICASA to reveal all information they have (in the context of Public Broadcasting) to the general public as part of the every citizens right to ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION - and should both organisations refuse to provide said information ...............

I don't doubt that there are policy problems that have lead us to where we are. However, I am sure that there are structural factors at the root of the problem too. I am particularly talking about the dependence on revenue from advertising. More relevant than how many people watch a show, is how much buying power watches a show. If local content is expensive and does not attract the types of audiences advertisers will pay good money for, then the viability of local content goes down. Ironically, the call for more competition in the sector may exacerbate this problem by increasing competition in a context in which local content is possibly battling to be competitive. If, as TVIEC seems to be asserting, a public broadcaster has an obligation to our 'culture' and 'identity' whatever those might be (and we as the public should of course have right of reply as to whether they have been doing a decent job of this thus far, as in my opinion this is not unproblematically true) then my, perhaps controversial, contention is that the state is better suited to the task than what the market is.

According to their website only 16% of the SABC revenue is devoted to meeting their public broadcasting obligations - the rest is commercially generated from advertising and sponsorships (76%), interest and the hiring of facilities. It is sobering that only the revenue generated from license fees goes towards the meeting of public broadcaster obligations. If local content is indeed such an obligation then it stands to reason that the portion of public money needs to increase relative to that brought in from commercial streams. So we are looking at increased license fees or a big chunk of direct state funding. We perhaps need to put aside our liberal faith in the market's ability in this instance to serve the public good and seriously consider the possibility of a significantly larger degree of state involvement.

How ever, poorly organised the SABC has been in the past, how ever much money it has imputed into the television industry. Right or wrongly supporting something whic is not feesable. I can think of the top of my head of at lease 10 people who would be adversly effected by its down sizing of local content. And personally i'd rather what local programing and not see, grey anatomy or oprah, if i know the people who are going to be affected by such a move. We have DSTV if you want to whatch forgeign stuff keep local lekker.