Booming TV
Local television producers wait with bated breath for the expected multibillion-rand boost to the sector that is expected to be driven by the entry of three new broadcasters in the second half of this year.
Analysts and stakeholders are predicting an investment between R2-billion and R5-billion from the three new entrants over the next few years, which has everyone eyeing a slice of the pie. The content-production industry is currently valued at about R3-billion per year.
Producers hope that the new entrants will be a shot in the arm for the dead hand SABC-dominated sector.
The introduction of new competition in the market will further restore some power to producers when they negotiate licenses for their content.
Currently broadcasters own the copyright to shows they purchase. This is a bone of contention for most producers, who are pushing for a move towards international best practice where content is licensed only for certain platforms.
In a converging media space, a model such as this makes sense because producers can license their content for multiple platforms separately, such as subscription broadcasting, free to air, Mobile TV and Web TV.
Telkom Media, one of the new entrants, has proposed just such a model for its new content requirements that were published in brief form last year.
Producers hope that this move by Telkom Media will put pressure on incumbents such as the SABC, M-Net and e.tv to follow suit.
“If there are more doors to knock on for producers in the sector and a wider range of content, it will raise the game of the SABC, M-Net and e.tv,” says Jeremy Nathan head of production house DV8. “The SABC has a very narrow view of the production sector. Broadcasters want to own what they commissioned you to produce,” says Nathan. “Everyone has been fighting against this for years.”
Desiree Markgraaff, managing director of production house The Bomb and chairperson of the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO), says the trade terms proposed by Telkom Media in its briefs are very favourable and they will have an impact on how producers negotiate with the SABC and e.tv in the future.
Telkom Media’s general manager of entertainment, Hannelie Bekker, says that the new entrant conducted an industry survey last year and one of the biggest concerns raised was the issue of intellectual property.
Bekker says it is all about finding a balance between conditions that are conducive to good business and creative processes.
“It is not our intention to grow the industry,” says Bekker. “We want to contribute by creating the space for producers to create their best work ever. There are producers who have been in the industry for years and years and they don’t own anything,” says Bekker. “We will have quite substantial licences for the content, but we will never own the underlying rights.”
Penguin Film’s Roberta Durrant says it is long overdue that content creators own a stake in their own work.
Durrant says the new media space offers exciting opportunities for content producers who now need to think about how their concept can exist on multiple media platforms. “It is a very positive thing for content creators; the advent of new media is providing opportunities for growth. New Media is not only the future, but already the present.
“The big challenge is to get South African content abroad, to become internationally competitive and be a meaningful player,” says Durrant.
Producer Jerry Mofokeng says the competitive edge is currently lacking in South Africa and he thinks the new entrants will give the industry the opportunity to hone its skills.
Mofokeng says one area the industry is struggling in, is in comedy and this is often because of shoestring budgets that are allocated to projects.
“You can’t hurry comedy, you can’t rush it,” says Mofokeng.
He also expects there to be a lot more development in the documentary genre because of the amount of amazing local stories that are waiting to be told.
Soul City’s Garth Jaffet says he expects to see a lot more magazine, music and lifestyle-type shows, which are cheaper to produce.
Jaffet says there is a lack of skilled drama writers and directors in the country and the end result may be a lot more low-budget dramas.
Bekker disagrees; she says there is no doubt that the talent exists in the sector. “The talent absolutely exists and as more power shifts towards the producers there will definitely be greater competition in the market for content,” says Bekker.
Markgraaf says this will mean that reliable producers making great content will become sought-after commodities.
One producer who did not want to be named said that the bidding wars might not be for content but rather for the producers of that content.
“Already the SABC is talking about locking in producers,” he said.
Another producer who refused to be named said he was taking a “wait and see approach”.
“I am feeling a little dubious about it,” he said. “They are trying to budget television along the lines of the SABC. Everyone knows the SABC is in chaos,” said the producer.
“You can’t make enough from cheap television to make it sustainable.”
“There is a limited skills pool that will be spread even thinner across more players,” he said.
The producer also points out because new entrants like Telkom Media expect the production houses to bankroll the new content and get paid on delivery, it will exclude many smaller new entrants.
“Poor companies do not have the cash flow; the smaller guys will not be able to do business with them and will get left sucking the hind tit,” he says.
It’s clear that opportunities are out there; it’s just a matter of who is going to take them.
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