The Green Paper outlined the need for the development of a framework to introduce multi-channel services, stating that such a strategy is important as a means of expanding the distribution infrastructure and as a platform for the growth of additional television services in the future. It recognized that successful introduction of these platforms is dependent on the ability to offer an attractive package of new services both domestic and foreign. Such services could be conventional television and radio services but might also be new interactive multimedia and other services delivered from the Internet.

The Green Paper requested comments as to the conditions that should be put upon multi-channel systems so that:

• the widest audience would be available to South African programming services,
• priority be given to local content,
• fair competition be facilitated and
• fair and equitable rates be provided to both consumers and to content providers.

The Green Paper noted that signal distributors could avoid the regulation of their services depending on the type of satellite or other platform used and requested comments as to how to ensure that similar businesses be dealt with equitably., the Green Paper requested comments on competition in distribution. It wished discussion as to whether multiple technologies should be licensed to compete with each other as well as whether competition by several operators using the same technology should be permitted.

Objectives that underpin the multichannel distribution system:

• Multichannel delivery systems should be introduced in a manner that will serve social goals cost effectively and efficiently. In particular, the these systems should play a significant role in meeting the following goals:

• Universal access by all South Africans to broadcasting and multi-media services.
• Provision of a diversity of types of programme content.
• Delivery of relevant services to all official language groups.
• Efficient rollout of regionally relevant services.
• Delivery of public and educational services.

• The introduction of multi-channel systems should bring economic advantages to South Africa by:

• Providing employment and training for South Africans both in the roll out of the services and in their operation.
• Creating opportunities for South African entrepreneurs to manufacture hardware for such systems.
• Creating opportunities for South African content providers to introduce new services.
• Providing services to marginalised groups that will allow them greater participation in the economy.

• The introduction of multi-channel distribution should not favour one technology over another.
• Multi-channel distribution services have the potential to allow the delivery of multiple local services as well as international services. The introduction of the multi-channel delivery systems should be in line with policy and strategy of prioritising South African content and ownership.
• Multi-channel distribution services should play a role in the financing of the production of local content. They can do this in two ways:

• By the payment of license fees.
• By contributing to production funds.

• Multichannel distribution services can provide competition in the delivery of voice and data to businesses, educational institutions and homes.

The Government should direct the Regulator to undertake a process, culminating in a Public Hearing or Hearing and report to the Minister of Communications by December 1999 on the introduction of a regulatory regime for the multi-channel distributions systems. The Government expects this process to be complete by January 2001. The Regulator will then hold hearings for the issuance of new licenses.

Possible policy thrust that could inform the regulatory regime:

• All persons providing multichannel distribution services will be required to hold a license to do so and to pay an appropriate license fee for this purpose.
• There will be competition in the delivery of services between satellite and terrestrial providers.
• In the case of terrestrial providers, one provider could be licensed as a monopoly provider in each area to be licensed. The Regulator will recommend, and the Minister will determine, the franchise areas to be served, bearing in mind the wish to ensure that services are extended to all regions of the country. Applicants wishing to provide monopoly service to a franchise area will be invited to choose the technology or mix of technologies to be used to ensure comprehensive coverage. For example, a franchisee may choose to use wireline cable to serve a densely populated urban area and a wireless technology such as MDS to serve the less densely populated surrounding rural areas. Any technology chosen must be technically capable of the delivery of multi-media services.

• The Regulator may review what an appropriate first license term will be. Comprehensive coverage of the franchise area might be required over the first license term. Comprehensive coverage will mean that service is available anywhere that electricity has been provided.
• Service may be provided to Universal Service Agencies, community centres, libraries or other public buildings that are accessible by the mass of the population.

• The Government may direct the Regulator to review and make recommendations on whether there should be competition between DTH satellite services or whether a monopoly should be allowed in this area.
• The Regulator may examine whether there can be vertical integration between multichannel distributors and broadcasters. If it is eventually decided that this will be permitted, the regulator will report on mechanisms to ensure that neither a multi-channel provider nor a broadcaster provides undue preference to an affiliated company.
• Signal carriage:

• All broadcast services to be distributed by multi-channel providers must hold licenses issued by the Regulator
• Multi-channel providers may be required to carry all channels licensed to serve part or all of their franchise area. After this they may carry other signals, domestic and foreign, upon approval by the Regulator. In cases where there is not sufficient channel capacity to carry all signals, signals providing local content will have priority.
• Special efforts must be made by terrestrial providers to give priority to services that reflect the linguistic make-up of the area to be served. Satellite providers may be required to reflect South Africa’s linguistic profile.
• Non-broadcast services such as data transmission do not need to hold a license but their revenues may be included in the calculation of license fees to be paid by the provider and no discrimination in access shall be permitted.
• All providers may be required to furnish the capacity to provide Web TV services throughout their licensed area as is practical.
• Regulation of rates: Given that there may be monopolies granted in terrestrial multi-channel distribution, a price cap system may be put in place to protect consumers from abusive pricing practices

• Other contributions

• All persons holding multi-channel distribution licenses will be directed to contribute a portion of their revenues to the South African Television, Radio and Film Production Fund.

The Green Paper outlined how the Internet is evolving from a narrow band interactive facility to wide band transmission of sound, data and images. Cable modems and telephone technologies such as ISDN or ADSL will compete with wireless delivery mechanisms such as satellite and MMDS that use a telephone return path. As more fibre is rolled out even greater bandwidth will become available. Eventually broadcast services will be delivered via the Internet.

The new technologies raise difficult issues for the broadcast arena. While the broadcast regulation can ensure that the public does not have to endure racist broadcasts or child pornography. Similarly the Internet allows consumers to receive content from anywhere in the world. Local content may or may not be available on servers in South Africa. The rationale for the regulation of over-the-air or subscription will be challenged by this potentially unlicensed competition. Finally, the Internet challenges enforcement of copyright and other intellectual property rights.

Local Internet Service Providers will connect consumers to the Internet. There is potential for the State to intervene via the ISP’s. However, the ability of Internet providers to control the material that flows to consumers is limited or non-existent. They can monitor their own proprietary material and can develop navigational systems that offer local material in their default menus. Nonetheless, regulation of the supply side is difficult to achieve.

Most countries are opting for subsidy of local content to ensure their presence on the Net. In South Africa it is not clear that public funds are sufficiently available to make this kind of subsidy a priority for public expenditure. We will need to find innovative ways for private enterprise to meet public policy goods in the rollout of the Internet.

It is likely that the Internet will be provided to the most affluent section of the population earlier than other sectors. One way that services can be provided to the poorer and to the rural sectors is through the use of community centres and libraries as locations where individuals and groups can get access to the Net and in particular to public services. It is possible that the Net may be a very efficient way of providing government services and information. For example, public kiosks attached to the Internet could allow individuals to register important information such as births and marriages, to acquire or renew drivers’ or other licences and to even input their opinions to government processes such as this one.

This will take an investment in infrastructure that may not always be economic for the private sector to undertake. In the section of this paper that deals with Multichannel Broadcast Distribution, the Government has placed an emphasis on rolling out terrestrial distribution that has Web TV capacity. This will be the most efficient way to make Internet capacity available to a large portion of the population.

10.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNET

The final position on the Internet should be informed by the following policy objectives:

• Access to the Internet should be provided to as wide a population base as possible. This does not require that it necessarily is available to all homes but certainly it could be rolled out to most communities through USA’s or other community centers.

• The private sector will probably be in the best position to choose the appropriate technology or combination of technologies that will ensure the widest coverage. The licensing framework proposed for broadcast signal distribution would provide the incentive for franchisees to rollout the technology in the most cost-effective manner.
• Universities and technikons are large users of the Internet. It is hoped that they may find ways to extend services to members of the community.
• The most economically efficient means of providing interactive services to the largest number of people is through Web TV and therefore, all multi-channel distribution systems should have the capacity to provide Web TV services.

• The Internet should help in the democratisation process by allowing the largest number of individuals and communities to have access to a variety of information and educational materials. In addition, it can set up inexpensive means of people in one community to reach out to other communities.

A strategy must be developed for the rollout of the Internet. Parts of that strategy are laid out in the multi-channel distribution section of this document

To the extent possible, Government information will be digitized and made available electronically. In addition, citizens who wish to communicate with their governments should be able to do so electronically. The Government will study the possibility of placing information kiosks or other means of accessing the Web in public sites. Government’s strategy will be to find means to provide service electronically to be more efficient and effective.

The Green Paper briefly mentions digital broadcasting in chapter 6. It summarizes this topic as follows:

Digital DTH- involving a bouquet of digitised services requiring digital decoders and roof top antennas, possible with a basic/premium tiering structure for the television services.

Coaxial cable- either digital or high bandwidth analogue- which are typically established in the first instance for the retransmission of cross border stations or distant signals, but now are the main segment of multi-channel distribution.

Digital multi-channel multiunit distribution systems (MMDS)- which is an alternative to cable at 2.5 GHz, as well as a competitor to cable in the delivery of mix of local and distant programming services;

Digital local multipoint distribution system (LMDS)- which is another wireless platform at 28 GHz that is gaining an international interest; there is typically more spectrum available in this higher band, but the transmission is limited to 2-5 kms (unlike MMDS with a range of 39 kms)

Digital television transmission (DTT)- the conversion of terrestrial analogue to digital transmission in being planned by several countries; the result could be a mix of HDTV (which needs substantial spectrum) and multiplexed services

Local telephone- the phone company’s copper plant does not provide enough spectrum for broadcasting services, even though ADSL technology could deliver VCR quality video signals;

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)- digitisation of audio (Radio) signal and using digital receivers for reception. The Worldspace project is looking at introducing DAB in Africa by the end of 1998.

There is no law that governs digital broadcasting at present.

There is no doubt that South Africa faces considerable difficulty in the task of extending broadcasting services to all South Africans.

There are many South Africans who have no access to broadcasting services at all.

Major advances have been achieved in the past four years, but much more remains to be done.

Elsewhere in the world major technological transformations are being actively considered by many developed countries. Some of these countries have even begun setting new policy frameworks in place that will deal with technological change, and a few have actually begun the technological transition.

The technological transformation in question is the change from analogue to digital technology as the means of transmission of broadcasting services.

Ever since broadcasting began, analogue technology has been the technology of transmission.

The development of digital technology, which has had considerable implications for the fields of telephony, telecommunications and computing, has been actively examined for many years by both radio and television broadcasters and their engineers.

Because digital transmission has different implications for the radio and television arms of the broadcasting sector, it is better if the ensuing discussion is broken into separate discussions about radio and television.

The transmission of television by digital means has been, until very recently, the province of multi-channel subscription services delivered to the end user by satellite or cable.

This has served to help broadcasters deliver channels of programs economically. For example, satellite transmission costs have been made affordable because several channels of digitized programming can now be delivered by the same transponder capacity that once supported a much smaller number of channels.

Consumers can receive all these channels on their analogue television receivers with the assistance of reception dish, set-top box and down-converter technology. They receive these programs in analogue form and in standard definition.

Throughout the world there has been virtually no digital terrestrial television broadcasting. The field of terrestrial broadcasting has been the province of free-to-air broadcasters broadcasting by analogue means.

Free-to-air broadcasters have been exploring for many years the concept of ‘advanced television’ or ‘high definition’ television, transmitted terrestrially.

These examinations were focussed, when they began, on making analogue technology carry greater signal capacity and deliver high definition images. After a number of years of unproductive research, attention gradually switched to an examination of digital technology. This work was more successful and now two suites of digital transmission standards have emerged, from separate collaborations in America and Europe, offering the prospect of digital terrestrial television broadcasting.

In the USA the Federal Communications Commission has approved plans for the free-to-air networks to convert their transmissions from analogue to digital form.

This will require a long period of simulcasting – broadcasters will broadcast for many years, perhaps as long as ten or fifteen years - so that consumers can make full economic use of analogue-only television sets, before analogue transmissions cease and digital transmissions take over completely.

Digital terrestrial television broadcasting can be utilised in two different ways – a single channel of high definition programs can be broadcast on the equivalent spectrum bandwidth taken up by a single analogue free-to-air channel, or several channels of standard definition programs can be offered using the same bandwidth of spectrum.

High definition digital broadcasting cannot be received on analogue television receivers, but standard definition digital programs can be transmitted, converted to analogue format by set-top box technology, and viewed by audiences on those receivers.

In other words, high definition digital television makes it necessary for analogue television receivers to be replaced by receivers with digital capacity, and multi-channel does not.

American policy strongly favours single channel, high definition, digital broadcasting instead of multi-channel, standard definition, digital broadcasting.

Canada and South Korea have reportedly made policy decisions to adopt the American transmission standards.

In the United Kingdom licenses have been allocated for multi-channel, standard definition, services. There are some spectrum constraints in the United Kingdom which make the adoption of a high definition digital policy problematic.

European countries are continuing to consider their respective positions.

In Australia the Government has announced that it will adopt a high definition digital policy for its five terrestrial networks, but the decision about which suite of standards – the American ATSC or the European DVB - will be chosen to implement this decision will not be finalised until after tests currently being undertaken in Australia are completed.

Many countries around the world will closely examine the results of these tests. The American standard was designed for channel spacing of 6MHz, and the European for 8MHz. Australian channel spacing is 7MHz.

Receiver manufacturers will also be following international developments closely. Although the Americans have committed to high definition television using the ATSC standards, the global scale economies of production will be very influential in determining how much digital television receivers will cost the consumer.

The cost of new receivers to the consumer will significantly influence the standards choice to be made by policy makers. Many countries will wait until a clearer, more definite picture emerges about standards and consumer costs.

Japan, for example, notwithstanding its high technology environment, the fact that it shares the same analogue transmission standard (NTSC) with the US, and its years of experience in the advanced television field, has chosen not to commit itself yet to digital terrestrial television. This technology will be kept under review, but Japan’s plans focus on high definition digital television broadcast by satellite. Japan also intends to offer integrated services digital broadcasting, which integrates a wide range of digitally based services, such as SDTV, HDTV, audio and data, and can provide flexible services among various types of programs. Japan will eventually consider conversion of its terrestrial broadcast system to digital but is in no rush to do so.

Developments in digital audio or radio broadcasting (DAB or DRB) have focussed, after many years of developmental work, on the adoption of a single transmission standard – Eureka 147. Most of the countries of the world that are considering digital radio policy have either decided to adopt or are leaning towards that standard, broadcasting in the L-Band. The United States has resolutely declined to do so, and policy-making in the US about terrestrially transmitted digital radio seems certain to lag the rest of the world considerably.

However, in 1997 the FCC in the US auctioned two commercial satellite-delivered digital radio licenses, and this might give some impetus to policy development in the field of terrestrial digital radio.

The United Kingdom has been a pioneer in the development of digital radio technology, through the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC has invested very heavily in pilot testing of the technology, but the unavailability of receivers to consumers, until very recently, has held back progress.

In late 1997 a number of receiver manufacturers unveiled digital radio receivers at a German electronics fair. Manufacturers foreshadow that vehicle receivers will be available in UK shops by late 1998, followed by fixed receivers and then portable receivers by the year 2000.

As with all new technologies, there will be an initial premium, but prices will fall as the market grows.

The BBC estimates that, in ten years from now, the prices that consumers will pay for digital radio receivers will be only marginally more expensive than a typical analogue radio receiver.

Further into the future, the BBC is looking at utilising satellite delivered digital radio.

Canada has announced that it intends to adopt the Eureka 147 standard and broadcast in the L-Band. Other countries are clearly likely to make the same decision.

However, one feature that makes high definition TV attractive to consumers – a qualitatively improved experience for the audience – is missing from digital radio. While sound quality is improved somewhat, the radio industry has been unable to develop ‘must-hear’ programming concepts that would persuade consumers to by all-new radio receivers.

One of the principal reasons why international attention turned to digital broadcasting technology was because of spectrum constraints.

Because digital technology offers the possibility that many more channels of both radio and television can be offered to consumers than could be achieved by analogue technology, many spectrum-constrained countries see it as offering a considerable advantage.

The introduction of digital technology into private broadcasting markets is very expensive, for both broadcasters and consumers.

The BBC, for example, has set aside many hundred of millions of pounds in order to convert its studios and transmission facilities from analogue to digital. In Australia the private television industry estimates that over $500 million more will be spent on conversion over the next ten years than would be normally be spent on operations and maintenance.

America’s public broadcasters have estimated that US$1.7 billion will be needed from the US Government to give effect to the transition to digital TV and radio technology. Most of this will be allocated to television transition.

Commercial broadcasters can only recoup investments of this order by increasing revenues and remaining efficient.

Nevertheless there is a need for South Africa to keep abreast of international developments in the digital broadcasting field

And there is a need to develop an understanding of digital policy issues in South Africa, in government, regulatory, production and business circles.

In company with the task of growing South African policy expertise in this area, it will be imperative that technological developments throughout the world are closely monitored and that local technology conversion issues be identified and studied.

The Government may direct the Department of Communications to establish a Digital Broadcasting Advisory Council, chaired by an eminent member of the broadcasting community, with membership nominated by the following sectors of the broadcasting sector

• The South African Broadcasting Corporation
• The private broadcasting industry
• The signal distribution industry
• The advertising industry
• The community broadcasting industry
• The broadcasting regulator
• The manufacturing industry
• The telecommunications industry
• The proposed Spectrum Management Agency

The Council should establish committees to advise it about technological issues. These technological issues would include the suitability of competing transmission standards to South Africa’s spectrum plans, and other relevant radiofrequency engineering issues.

The Council will consider both radio and television issues but may organise its consideration of these issues separately and may report separately on them.

The Council will be required to present its first report to Government by 31 December, 1999, but may report earlier if it so wishes, or if requested to do so by the Minister.

The Department of Communications will provide support for the Council.

Private broadcasters are expected to fulfil significant public policy goals. To ensure that the broadcasting system meets the needs of South Africa, it is imperative that effective ownership and control of our broadcasting system remain in the hands of South African citizens. However, in order meet their obligations private broadcasters need access to adequate amounts of capital. An appropriate balance must be met between these priorities.

The level of ownership of private radio and television stations permitted for foreigners is currently 20% and may be increased to 33.33%. At the same time, measures for effective control of the broadcasting services by South Africans should not be relaxed. In earlier chapters, this document argued that control and ownership were means to achieve cultural and national identities. If the ownership levels by foreign persons were to be increased, the IBA might be required to develop and report on the criteria it will use to determine where effective control lies.

12.2 OWNERSHIP BY THE PREVIOUSLY DISADVANTAGED

Policy in broadcasting should encourage increasing the ownership of private broadcasting services by people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is meant not only to redress historical imbalance but also to ensure that services are extended to un-served groups by owners who understand their needs. At the same time, it recognises that there may be need to include people with existing expertise in the ownership structure of broadcasters. Spectrum planning and frequency allocation should give priority to services for the disadvantaged and in that manner help to increase both participation and ownership by the previously disadvantaged.

In many countries around the world, the privilege of being given access to a radio frequency is often subject to a number of obligations and impositions to achieve social values. One such obligation is ownership and cross-media rules.

Cross-media ownership as envisaged in the IBA Act refers to the cross-investment of entities in a manner as to straddle both print and electronic media.

The regulation of cross-media control derives legitimacy from section 50 of the IBA Act. The section, inter alia, charged the regulator to, "as soon as may be reasonably practicable after the commencement of this Act, conduct an inquiry in accordance with the provisions of section 28 and shall in doing so have regard to:

• The various categories of newspapers according to frequency of population, geographical extent of circulation figures as well as any matter relevant to the existing and future control of any such newspaper; and
• The maximum percentage of financial and voting interests which may be held in any one or more private broadcasting licensees by a person who controls one or more newspapers, or group of newspapers,

Submissions to the inquiry were received from a wide range of entities, interest groups and representatives of civil society. The major newspaper interests argued that media economics demanded that they rationalize and synergise their media production facilities to achieve economies of scale.

These groups alleged that they experienced a shift in advertising income with the introduction of SATV and believe that they were about to re-live that experience. Given the fact that the airwaves were then being opened, some of these companies claimed that new electronic media entities would drive them out of business.

Other submissions argued that such fears were groundless and that newspapers should re-strategise and improve their quality in order to meet the challenge of proliferating electronic media. Yet others argued that the public interest, diversity, choice and nation building should enjoy precedence over self-serving interests of existing companies.

Concentration of media power refers to the phenomenon whereby a few media players, through joint co-operation deals, mergers, acquisitions and cross-acquisitions and any other arrangements, establish themselves into powerful cross-holdings with financial or other interests straddling media types

The impact of this phenomenon is to deny the public a plurality of views, choice in the provision of news and information.

The control of a number of media by one person or entity limits the spread of views and ideas. Such concentration of control or media access in the hands of a powerful few, is a threat to diversity of information.

Governments the world over have been trying to establish different kinds of publisher links to avoid monopolies and ensure proper working of the market in the public interest. Therefor, limits are often set to cross-media ownership and especially to the relationship between the print and electronic sectors.

International approaches to cross-media control reveals five broad trends:

• A percentage-based limit in Spain, Greece and Australia where the extent to which newspapers may invest in broadcasting activities is limited. These limits range from 15% - 20%. In the UK regulation has moved towards the concept of market share.
• Total daily circulation limits such as in Italy and France where limits are based on the total daily circulation of newspapers.
• No limits as in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Germany where there is no legislation or cross-media control is permitted for a number of reasons.
• Flexible implementation as in Luxembourg and Ireland where, whilst they have a 25% cross-media control limit, the authorities generally do not enforce the rule since the broadcasting activities in those countries are internationally orientated.
• Audience reach and market type in the USA who apply a duopoly rule which prohibits ownership of more than one station in each market type. This is coupled with the audience reach limit, which provides that no single group may exceed a total potential audience of 25% of the nation’s TV households.

The flow of information in South Africa has historically been characterised by monopolies, virtual monopolies and oligopolies.

The IBA recommended principles to govern cross-media limitations in its Triple Report to parliament in September 1995. Those recommendations were approved by parliament in March 1996.

The IBA was to draw up proposed cross-media limitations and submit those to the Minister. There are, therefore, no formal regulations in place so that the intended legislation will expressly empower the IBA to regulate the investment by print media owners in electronic media.

It is in the public interest that cross-media control should be limited to ensure that there is an equitable share of voice across all print and electronic media in South Africa.

These limitations should at this stage be confined to ownership and control by print groups of radio and/or television operations, but include all forms of service provision for those media types. A decision has to be taken on what levels of cross-ownership should be permissible and what should be the specific regulatory mechanism for its enforcement.

This discussion document has already indicated that vertical integration of broadcasting services should also be discouraged. The Regulator required to conduct an Inquiry and submit a Report on appropriate regulatory mechanisms to discourage vertical integration of broadcasting services.

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

The Green Paper raised the issue of Human Resources Development from a background of:

• The legacy of isolation, which effectively denied South Africa the opportunity to link with the international trends in Human Resources Development
• The inequalities and discriminatory practice of the past, which produced a human resources profile skewed in favour of the previously advantaged
• The need for strategies to ensure human resources that are adequately qualified and skilled to match the world-class broadcasting standards.

The Green Paper also pointed out the broadcasting essentially is about ideas and the conversion of those ideas into programme content. It is in this context that Human Resources are the mean and the end of the development process in broadcasting.

The Human Resources Strategy in Broadcasting should aim to achieve the following:

• To establish a formal and practical training and development system, which is fully integrated and capable of delivering all round skills in broadcasting
• To develop a system in close collaboration with the communications, information and cultural sectors.
• To redress the imbalances of the past through targeted programmes addressing the training needs of the previously disadvantaged including women, the disabled and children
• To upgrade the skills levels of practitioners in the broadcasting industry.
• To recognise and facilitate a common human resource base for related industries.
• To develop a coherent system to accredit the skills of people involved in the industry.
• To make efficient and cost effective use of the financial resources.

Government’s policy places great importance on Human Resources Development as an integral part of the over-all developmental needs of the country. The RDP and the Education and Training White Papers both support an integrated education and training system for South Africa. The objectives of this integrated approach to education and Training are to redress the inequalities and provide human resources for the growth of the South African industries.

The South African Qualifications Framework has been developed as part of the Strategy for the implementation of this human resources development.

The South African Qualifications Authority has been instituted to recognise and accredit the sectoral bodies setting educational and training standards.

The draft legislation, expected to be passed in June this year advocates for a levy on all employers for financing training and skills development.

Another relevant legislation is the Equal Employment Bill. This Bill has as its objectives the transformation of the work place to reflect the demographics of South Africa. It seeks to redress the employment inequalities.

Broadcasting will be expected to fall in line with the National Frameworks.

Human Resources Development Strategy for the broadcasting sector must be viewed holistically in terms of accreditation, standards, skill development, inter-relationship with the complimentary sectors and the funding of the strategy.

Broadcasting as a sector must establish a Sector Education and Training Authority and register this authority with the Ministry of Labour. This SETA will be responsible for:

• Establishing learnership
• Approving workplace skills plans
• Accrediting and monitoring education and training in the sector.

 

The Green Paper noted the important role that the film, television production and sound recording industries have a role to play in the development and reflection of national and local culture. It further noted that in many countries around the world, governments support the production of local content by requiring the broadcast of local content by licensed broadcasters and by subsidising local film and television production as a means of allowing local broadcasters to afford to buy local programming.

In South Africa, the IBA introduced local content requirements in both television and radio. Much concern has been expressed by broadcasters that the quotas have been set at too high a level and that not enough material meeting international standards of quality is available. At the same time, the local production industry is concerned that the level is not sufficient to provide sufficient windows for South African product and that the market is saturated with foreign material. It is clear that all sectors are concerned that there are not sufficient resources devoted to production to be able to compete fairly with the best of what the world has to offer.

The Green Paper requested comment on what policies should be put in place to stimulate the South African film, television production and music industries as well as the role of the Government in promoting South African productions and the production industry. Among the means discussed was a greater use of co-productions with other countries.

The production of local content reflecting South Africa’s cultures languages and character is a top priority for this broadcasting policy process. A number of things need to be in place for local content to flourish and be competitive with the best the world has to offer.

• We must have radio and television stations that have sufficient resources to schedule appropriate amounts of local content at times when citizens can see or hear them. They must not only meet local content obligations but also make all efforts to ensure that South African content is of a quality that will draw listeners and viewers.

• Television broadcasters must provide a mix of their own productions and of programs produced by independent South African producers. In most countries, news, public affairs and sports programming are usually in-house productions while documentaries; children’s programmes and drama are either produced in-house or purchased.
• Radio stations typically produce the vast majority of their programmes themselves. Clearly, music formatted stations are very dependent on the music industry for both foreign and domestic recordings.

• Local independent production industries must have sufficient resources to be able to provide content competitive with the international products available. In most countries, government has taken a role of support for independent production. This ranges from local content and spending requirements for broadcasters, to tax incentives for domestic and foreign producers to work in the country, to direct subsidy of programs and, in some cases, companies.

• While productions by foreign companies in South Africa, essentially using this country as an exotic backdrop, does not contribute to the reflection of South African society, it does have the potential of bringing foreign cash to this country. In addition, it can also provide an opportunity for South African camera operators, line producers, sound recorders etc to work in the industry and be exposed to international best practices. Similarly, if international recording artists record in South Africa, this can help develop world class recording studios that are then available for use by domestic musicians. In Canada, tax incentive schemes that encourage the use of local labour have been put into place by both the national and provincial governments to attract productions.
• As mentioned earlier, many countries provide direct subsidies to the production industries, often through a fund operated by an arms-length agency. In some cases, these funds are administered under a Memorandum of Understanding by a private sector not-for-profit agency with representation by many stakeholders (broadcasters, producers, writers etc.). In addition, in some cases the contributions that broadcasters or multichannel broadcast service providers are required to make are twinned with public subsidy to help underwrite both sound recording and film and television production.
• One means of lowering the costs of film and television production is by co-producing with other countries. South Africa has recently signed a treaty with Canada whereby co-productions will be treated, as local content is both countries. Such agreements allow new producers in either country to work with more experienced partners and to develop a track record.

• The multi-media production for CD-ROM or Web sites in the mid- to long-term will be crucial. Priority for the immediate term should be on production of conventional radio and television materials that can be made available to a wide range of South Africans. Of course, such productions can be re-purposed for use in multi-media. In particular, products relevant to those previously disadvantaged or for regions without service should be the first priority of public grants.

The development of strong television production and sound recording industries able to produce top-drawer audio-visual products relevant to South Africa should be a priority. Materials that feature South African artists, musicians and other creative talent should underpin the strategy for the transformation of the South African broadcasting system to be more reflective of the cultural heritage and meeting the broadcasting needs of South Africans.

At the same time, there must be recognition that the building of such industries relies on the creation of a pool of creative and technical talent that may be provided by foreign productions or by domestic productions for an international market.

Finally, finance for the production industry through, public funds, is limited given the many challenges to develop infrastructure in a wide range of sectors. What ever limited resources there are within government they have to be leveraged and complimented by the broadcasting industry. The responsibility for producing and displaying programmes finally rests with the Industry.

Therefore, consideration must be given to the following policy thrusts in support of the production industry.

• The Government could set up a Film and Television Production Fund and a Sound Recording and Community Radio Fund financed by Government grants, contributions from the broadcasting industry and donations. An arms-length agency will be set up to administer the Funds. The Board of the agency will have representation from the Government, the SABC, the private broadcasters, signal distributors, the independent production sector, the sound recording industry and the National Association of Community Broadcasters. The Minister will appoint the Chair of the Board. In addition, the monies that multichannel broadcast distributors and that signal distributors are required to contribute to production will be sent to this agency. These funds will be divided pro rata between the two funds.

14.3.1Film and Television

• The Agency will be empowered to fund film and television production to a portion of the budget of individual projects. Such projects must be owned and controlled by South Africans.

• For independent production, the amounts to be provided will be tied to the fees that broadcasters will pay to the producers for the right to air the programs. The Government proposes that this be a matching fee. The Agency will be directed to review and report to Government whether and how it should provide additional support to projects produced by or featuring people from previously disadvantaged groups.
• For broadcaster productions, the amount to be provided should provide no more than 25% of the budget of the project. Again a premium could be provided for projects including creative talent and output by new producers from previously disadvantaged groups.
• All projects must qualify as local content as defined in the IBA Act.
• The Fund could provide support to the following categories of programming only:

• Drama, including series, mini-series, made for television movies and feature films. In the case of feature films, the fees to be paid will be tied to the fees paid by the broadcaster only.
• Documentaries
• Performing arts
• Children’s programs.

14.3.2 Sound Recording and Community Radio

• The Fund could provide financial support for the recording of new records and the making of videos to support recordings once a master is pressed. All projects must be controlled by South African companies and qualify as South African content as defined by the IBA Act.
• The Board could develop policies as to how to allocate the funds. Best international practices should be followed. Projects should have a business plan for the marketing of the resulting product.
• The Fund could also provide support to programmes meant for broadcast by community broadcasters. Priority could be given to programmes aimed at un-served broadcasting needs. Priority could also be given to programmes that will be made available to more than one broadcaster and by Independent Producers. Individual broadcasters, consortia of broadcasters or independent producers, could submit projects. Accessing the Fund could be conditional on a commitment from a broadcaster to air them.

14.3.3 The Financial Operations of the Fund

• The Fund could have the power to audit the accounting records for each project. It can be required to ensure that fair market value is charged for line items in project budgets in order to ensure that costs are reasonable.
• Administrative costs should be kept to a minimum so as to ensure the maximum amount of money will go to production. Members of the Board of Directors will not be paid salaries although reasonable expenses to compensate the cost of attending meetings will be paid.

14.4 Co-productions

• The Government should aggressively seek out and sign co-production treaties with other countries. Priority will be given to agreements with other African nations and with other members of the Commonwealth.