Plan to charge SA Netflix users TV licence fees is based on "good principle" - Expert

[Gravedigger]

I wish MyBB could stop trolling us with these tv license articles. Tsek.
Clickbait.

Well yes, I agree.
I am sure that there is a petition against the TV license crap to feed the piggies. SABC en Netflix het net mooi NIKS met mekaar uit te waai nie.
Where do they come to the logic for you, the taxpayer to pay "TV-license" that you do not even use the TV for analog television reception, just to watch Netflix? Tsek.

 

[Tpex]

“If you underfund the SABC you underfund democracy because you underfund the ability to hold power accountable and help citizens to make informed choices at the ballot box.”

What utter BS, the SABC has always been the mouthpiece of the ruling party, I would rather fund eNCA

 

[bwana]

I think we need to start prefacing expert with alleged until it's been proven.

EDIT: in this case self-professed might be more apt.

 

[Dan C]

There's that word again ( used a lot in Covid-land ) ..... Expert.

Don't &$#+* with the experts.

 

[HartsockZA]

Will route all our clients to international servers then.

 

[Fulcrum29]

 

[Fulcrum29]

I was surprised that SANEF stood behind the TV licence, and it seems to widely supported within SANEF,

She said she agrees with her colleague, Justine Limpitlaw, who tweeted the following:

“The TV licence fee is outdated but the need for a publicly funded SABC remains. Bottom line, the vast majority of our people rely on the SABC for their news and information.”

“If you underfund the SABC you underfund democracy because you underfund the ability to hold power accountable and help citizens to make informed choices at the ballot box.”

and they support this by highlighting the 'good' within the white paper, but I had a read up on Skinner, back in 2009,

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Under the Broadcasting Act, the SABC is classified as an independent public company. Government, through the communications minister, is its sole shareholder. However, shortcomings in the legislation have become glaring in recent years. These are also partly to blame for the governance crisis at the SABC. For example, says Kate Skinner, campaign co-ordinator for the Save our SABC coalition formed last year, the act lacks clarity on the minister’s role.

This became apparent last year when the late communications minister, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, refused to get involved in the stand-off between CEO Dali Mpofu and the SABC board, arguing she had no mandate to do so. “What we are proposing is that the SABC be turned into a chapter 9 institution,” says Skinner. “We believe this will better safeguard the SABC from major vested political interference.”

still trying to save the SABC I see. Expert today, expert tomorrow.

 

[Aghori]

This "Expert" probably got paid to say this, so we can safely ignore it.

 

[Mista_Mobsta]

/snip

Its mind boggling that people can be this stupid

Wish I could upvote this 1and5millionty times!

 

[hellfire]

“If you underfund the SABC you underfund democracy because you underfund the ability to hold power accountable and help citizens to make informed choices at the ballot box.”

Of course. The SABC totally supports democracy and totally isn't a government mouth piece

 

[Mista_Mobsta]

No offence meant but since when is a Journalist, no matter how exceptionally good, an expert on the (suggested) forced taxation of a revenue stream that a company has no legal bearing to have access to? Should every person that has access to radio stations also pay a TV license? The fact that SANEF has an "expert" that agrees with the TV license extension to a platform that SABC has ZERO control/interest in, is absolutely ridiculous IMHO!

 

[j4ck455]

“We are not only limiting it to TV. We also have other platforms where people consume content and in all of those areas, that is where we should look at how we are able to get SABC licence fees from those gadgets,” said Kekana.

Clearly she wants to siphon off money from anything and it has nothing to do with TVs anymore.

She should be calling it either a Contentious Consumption Licence (CCL) or more plainly an SA Bullshit + Corruption Licence (SABCL).

 

[SylvesterR]

Once Netflix agrees to this BS they can say goodbye to a large chunk of their S.A based customers

 

[nahoR]

This refers to the fact that subscription broadcasters must carry the SABC channels, and do so without any payment to the national broadcaster.

“The SABC should gain revenue from these channels as subscription broadcasters have derived significant financial benefits,” argued Skinner.

I'm not sure I understand this, Netflix should 'broadcast' the SABCs with no cost to SABC and then also give SABC a piece of the pie of Netflix's subscriptions?

 

[dualmeister]

Skinner’s comments come following a presentation to Parliament by Deputy Communications Minister Pinky Kekana regarding this white paper.

Have the EFF started protesting yet?

 

[Thor]

Skinner is a joke, why the airtime?

 

[ToxicBunny]

Once Netflix agrees to this BS they can say goodbye to a large chunk of their S.A based customers

Welllll, more like their S.A. customers will miraculously become US/UK customers...

 

[lotus123]

Mebbe so-called "expert" is angling for a seat on the board at an SOE.

 

[N@t3]

Expert hahahaha

 

[mr_norris]

I am puzzled.

I am assuming that Netflix pays tax because I see a VAT charge on my invoice. Then a bunch of people are kicking up a fuss saying Netflix must pay more for streaming here. Then of course the money I pay Netflix with is already taxed. I also pay my TV licence (don't hate me - I am fighting an internal battle between sticking it to SABC and also not having to deal with lawyer ****).

So why must we now pay more? What about this scenario is a "good principle"? The whole system of money revolves around giving money to get something back, and in the case of SABC, we get nothing back. If they want the population to give away money they should make the SABC an NGO and payments to them should be classed as donations.