The Department of Communication and Digital Technologies submitted a proposal that has the potential to put South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in the international satellite TV and digital services space.
According to Business Tech report, The proposals are contained in the department’s draft white paper on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and Online Content Safety.
The white paper points to many policy proposals such as sports broadcasting rights to complete overhaul of South Africa’s licencing regime, according to reports.
According to Business Tech, the white paper note the importance of the SABC. As a public broadcaster to the entire audio and audio-visual content ecosystem.
“Apart from the dependency of millions of South Africans on the SABC, the sustainability of the public broadcaster has an impact on its employees, sports rights associations, Sentech, independent television producers, commercial partners and creative artists like musicians, actors, writers, directors,” the department said.
“A strong and financially fit SABC is vital for South Africa, and the government will take the necessary legislative and financial steps to ensure this.”
SABC needs to have a mandate in legislation to operate international satellite television, radio, and Internet services, under the name SABC International Broadcast Services or SABC Foreign Broadcasting Service.
“The Channel Africa radio services and Ubuntu Radio, DIRCO’s 24-hour internet-based radio station, will form part of this unitary service to provide both domestic and international news, information, as well as a wide variety of programming, 24 hours a day, to the world accurately and promptly from African various perspectives, making the best use of public broadcaster and its international partners networks,” it said.
