Warning over DA’s SABC proposal
Former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board member Michael Markovitz has emphasised that the country needs a public broadcaster, and it mustn’t be shut down.
This comes after the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) ICT draft policy revealed that it would propose holding public hearings to determine whether South Africa needs a public broadcaster.
If it is determined that South Africa no longer requires the SABC, the DA would propose that it be broken up and sold.
However, Markovitz told CapeTalk that he believes a public broadcaster is still necessary in South Africa.
“The DA probably developed that policy when it thought it was never going to be a minister of communication,” said Markovitz.
“That’s a non-starter. There is no serious country in the world apart from the US that doesn’t have a substantial public media organisation.”
The DA’s draft policy highlights several other proposals and determines if the public broadcaster should be scrapped. These proposals are for scenarios where South Africa decides that the SABC should remain.
“The first question that the DA was seeking to ask in its policy was: do we need a public broadcaster?” said Markovitz. “I can just answer that and say yes.”
However, he noted that the DA’s second question, relating to the SABC’s funding, is crucial and should be the focus of attention.
“The next step, which I think is the most important, is how do we fund the public broadcaster?” said Markovitz.
“That’s what we need an urgent inquiry on. That policy has stalled, and we’re looking forward to seeing what happens there.”
The DA is set to get the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), with President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing Solly Malatsi as its minister.
One proposal in the party’s ICT draft policy document is decentralising the SABC into provincial broadcasting stations independently run by their respective provinces.
“The decentralisation will encompass a resource-sharing model, similar to the broadcasting model of the United States,” it says.
“This model will increase cooperation between provincial broadcasters in the sharing of content to illuminate duplication of content production, which can reduce the subsequent costs.”
Michael Markovitz, head of GIBS Media Leadership Think Tank and former SABC board member.
However, the DA also made several recommendations for if it is determined that the country needs a national public broadcaster,
This includes implementing strict financial policies to improve its financial situation.
The party highlighted that this would require significant cost cuts and pointed out that the public broadcaster has a “bloated” salary bill.
“Half of the SABC’s staff are ‘not suited or skilled’ to hold the positions they are employed in,” it added.
It also proposed conducting a nationwide customer survey to help address the SABC’s declining audience numbers, which plummeted by roughly 50% between 2018 and 2021.
It will also consider viewership demands and offer content that matches them.
The DA notes that the rise of online streaming platforms like Netflix is likely a primary driver behind the SABC’s declining audience numbers.
It proposes creating streaming platforms to increase revenue streams and establishing content-sharing agreements with local and international streaming providers.
“Government must engage with international and local streaming providers and consider a possible mutually beneficial relationship through content sharing,” it said.
“Users will then be able to access local and international content on SABC and other online streaming networks.”
“In this instance, SABC will be able to generate demand by also including trendy, international shows,” it added.
The public broadcaster already has a streaming platform — SABC+ — which is free to use. It is unclear what the DA’s plans for SABC+ will be.
The document also advised that the SABC should scrap its controversial TV licence plans.
“The broadcaster must stay clear of controversial plans such as those proposed in the draft white paper on audio and audio-visual content, which would see consumers streaming a Netflix or Amazon production on their phone having to pay a license fee to the SABC,” it says.
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