DStv, TopTV to ask for TV license fees?

New SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo wants DStv and TopTV to be obliged to assist the public broadcaster with the collection of license fees.

Channel24 reported that Mokhobo told parliament this week that she wants to see “pay TV operators to help with the collection of SABC licence fees from pay TV subscribers.”

Mokhobo said that pay TV in South Africa is making massive inroads in “stealing” viewers away from the SABC with a growing number of pay TV subscribers refusing to pay their SABC TV licence fees.

According to Channel24, Mokhobo told parliament that the growth in pay TV subscriptions and cheaper bouquets which lures more viewers away from the SABC will have “a serious and negative” impact on the SABC’s income in years to come.

This is not the first time that the SABC tried to tap into the pay-TV market to bolster their license fees.

In 2009 the SABC had plans to get its hands on MultiChoice’s client database, or even force MultiChoice to collect licence fees from DStv subscribers on the SABC’s behalf.

At the time MultiChoice CEO Nolo Letele said that they will definitely not provide the SABC with access to their subscriber database. Letele added that MultiChoice is dedicated to protecting the privacy and rights of its subscribers, and added that the SABC has unsuccessfully tried to gain access to this information in the past.

This time around MultiChoice was more politically correct, and when asked for comment simply said that it had no comment on the matter.

TopTV did not respond by the time of publication.

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