BREAKING. SABC is repeats, repeats, repeats - according to a new study from Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) to be unveiled tomorrow.

The SABC is constantly feeding the South African public a steady diet of old programmes and repeats – that's according to a new study, the results of which will be released tomorrow.

The results of the study comes as the SABC is adding a Nigerian sitcom to SABC2, Meet the Adebanjos, while SABC3 is awash in 80s American dramas. The only Sepedi drama on the SABC is Bophelo Ke Semphego – 25 years old and having been repeated on numerous occasions over the years.

Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) will release on Thursday the results of its comprehensive, recently completed study entitled "Lack of Diversity. Repeat". The results of the study will be unveiled at a public seminar at the Wits Institute for Social & Economic Research from 16:30. The SABC has been invited to attend.

Media Monitoring Africa did comprehensive research and examined the quality and diversity of the programming and news content of the SABC. The conclusion? The study found that the public is constinually fed with the same old programmes across the services of South Africa’s public broadcaster.

"This has major implications for the role and impact and future of the SABC," says the MMA. Prof. Tawana Kupe, the dean of the faculty of humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand will deliver a keynote address when the study's findings is made known.

Meanwhile the SABC announced that it's ready to start its new 24-hour TV news channel with funding from the pay-TV platform MultiChoice beginning September. The news channel will become available freely when South Africa migrates from analogue to digital broadcasting, a process known as digital migration. 

This news channel replacing the discontinued SABC News International channel, will be one of 18 new TV channels the SABC plans to launch over the course of three years as part of its digital terrestrial television (DTT) offering. The government plans to launch DTT with a ceremonial switch-on demonstration on 26 September in Kimberley.

The vast public pressure group, Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS) met with the SABC's CEO Lulama Mokhobo last week. "It is important to underscore that being the public broadcaster in South Africa and the largest player in the sector, the SABC is prominently situated in a position where it must enable and ensure that we have a vibrant broadcasting sector," says the SOS Coalition in a statement.

"Now, rather than later, is the most opportune moment for the SABC to start looking to asserting itself as the public broadcaster it should be instead of putting out short to mid-term fires as it has been over the greater part of these last five years," says the SOS Coalition.

People interested to attend the keynote address, seminar and the unveiling of the study's results can contact Lethabo Dibetso at the MMA at lethabod@mma.org.za or phone 011 788 1278.