STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014
No. 37261
The community broadcasting sector further extends diversity of ownership and
content to the community level. Community broadcasters must provide a distinct
broadcasting service dealing specifically with community issues that are not normally
addressed by other broadcasting services available.
8.7 Public Broadcasting
The transformation of the SABC from a state broadcaster to a public broadcaster began in
1993 with the appointment of the first independent board of the Corporation.
The 1998 White Paper on Broadcasting took these transformation processes further. Among
other things, it:
Introduced a legislated Charter for Public Broadcasting outlining the SABC's
mandate,
Clarified the relationship between the public broadcaster and the regulator.
Considered how the SABC mandate should be funded; and
Separated the broadcaster into two divisions - public and public commercial.
As noted in Chapter3, the SABC currently includes:
Fifteen public radio stations, including eleven full-spectrum services broadcasting in
each of the official languages;
Three public commercial radio services;
Two national public television channels (SABC 1 & 2) with mandates to, among other
things, treat all official languages (including sign language) equitably, and include
educational programming; and
One national public commercial television service (SABC 3).
A further two regional SABC licences (SABC 4 & 5) were granted by ICASA in 2005 but the
licences were never issued pending confirmation of sufficient funding for these services. The
migration from analogue to digital television will change the structure of the SABC and
enable it to air many more television channels. With analogue, each spectrum channel or
multiplex delivers a single analogue television channel. In the digital television environment,
the multiplex can deliver up to eight channels. This will enable the public broadcaster to
better meet its public mandate across its television services as, for example, it has been
restricted by the number of channels in ensuring all languages are treated equitably. The
time passed since the introduction of the White Paper together with the move to DTT
however requires a review of this mandate. It is also crucial to review the funding model of
the broadcaster and its governance structures as part of the ICT policy review process.
It is also important in such a review to consider how to ensure that public interest content is
easily accessible by audiences given convergence. In many countries around the world it is
recognised that public broadcasting services play a critical role in a democracy and in
ensuring that society's social and cultural needs and objectives are met.
8.7.1 The Role and Mandate of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
The White Paper identified the need for the public broadcaster to play a fundamental and
leading role in fulfilling public interest obligations set out for the sector as a whole. The White
Paper identified the need to restructure the SABC in order for it to prioritise its public
mandate while at the same time generating cash from its commercial activities. A Charter
was developed and detailed in the Broadcasting Act, no 36 of 2005, to codify this mandate.
The White Paper and the Broadcasting Act required the SABC to apply for new licences
from ICASA for each of its services so that it would be bound by conditions linked to its
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