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With many new TV channels coming to South African TV viewers in the switch-over from analogue to digital broadcasting - a system known as digital terrestrial television (DTT) - South Africa's TV regulator says local TV content is going to become more important than ever before and will be a challenge the next few years.
Pieter Grootes, the general manager for markets and competition at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) said the regulator is aware of the challenges that South African broadcasters are going to face regarding the delivery of local content coming from the local South African TV production industry over the next few years. He was speaking as part of a panel discussion in Johannesburg for a CNBC Africa Special Report on the changing media landscape in South Africa.
''There's going to be a huge request for content. Everybody's going to be wanting content. If I've got a TV channel with nothing on it, it means that my channel's of no worth. So local TV content in South Africa and the acquisition of TV content is going to be a challenge over the next few years. Icasa is very aware of that.''
''Also, very importantly, with the development of community television in South Africa, we also have to look at what sort of local content obligations we as Icasa are going to impose on the South African broadcasting sector to stimulate the growth of community television as well as other TV services in South Africa - as well as what sort of TV channels and what sort of expectations can we have of the community television sector in South Africa's new digital TV era.''
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