AfricaCast 2011: Is the SABC secretly working on and testing a SABC video and audio media player for roll-out in mid-2012?

Spotted: Not talked about, given attention, but definitely seen by me: The SABC indicating on its timeframe roll-out chart for digital terrestrial television (DTT) in South Africa at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit something quite intriguing - a ''SABC video/audio media player'' earmarked for mid-2012.

Gelfand Kausiyo, the SABC's general manager for broadcast fascilities spoke about the South African public broadcaster's DTT plans at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit in Cape Town which is part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

While Gelfand Kausiyo talked, I studied his charts and powerpoint presentation (which definitely included some of my photos, if I may add, but that's Google for you).

It wasn't possible to ask him during the session since time ran out or I would have as I've done during the other sessions, but I spotted the words ''SABC video/audio media player'' inserted at mid-2012 on his roll-out trajectory for the SABC.

Does this mean that the SABC is secretly working on a media player similar to the BBC's iPlayer that was launched in 2008? It would seem so. The BBC's iPlayer is an internet television and radio service allowing viewers to watch BBC content online as a kind of catch-up service.

For the SABC to develop its own similar kind of service as South Africa's public broadcaster would fit in with the SABC making more of the broadcaster's content and newly-created digital content available on other platforms during and after the coming consumer phase of DTT in South Africa.