South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, on Wednesday announced that it will investigate South African television's so-called "must carry" regulations that the country's beleaguered public broadcaster complained about and wants changed.
The must carry regulations force pay-TV operators in South Africa like MultiChoice, StarTimes Media SA's StarSat and Deukom to carry the SABC's public access channels like SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.
Whilst being forced to carry these channels, pay-TV operators are not obliged to pay for these SABC channels.
Pay-TV operators get these SABC channels for free, while the bigger availability and reach under DStv and StarSat subscribers means higher ratings for the SABC that can charge higher spot prices for 30 second TV commercials since SABC content and channels are seen by more viewers which wouldn't be the case if the channels are not carried on pay-TV operators' platforms.
The SABC now says the must carry regulations are unfair and needs to change so that pay-operators like MultiChoice are not only forced to carry the channels, but are also forced to pay for them.
The SABC asked Icasa to investigate and to change South Africa's must carry regulations that were introduced in 2008, with the SABC that added its channels to DStv on 1 April 2011.
MultiChoice said earlier this year in response to the SABC, that it won't pay for the SABC's channels, although MultiChoice is paying hundreds of millions of rand for the SABC's SABC News (DStv 404) and SABC Encore (DStv 156) channels in a separate channel carriage contract that was renewed last month for another 5-year period.
"Icasa is conducting a regulatory impact assessment on must carry regulations following the implementation of these regulations in 2008," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The regulatory impact assessment will determine whether or not the regulations have fulfilled their intended objectives by looking at both economic and non-economic factors."
"These regulations are a part of the universal service and access obligation imposed on subscription television services, driven by a policy objective of ensuring that public service television (PBS) programming is available to all South Africans, including those that use subscription services as their preferred means of access to television content".
"Icasa has issued a questionnaire requesting data from interested stakeholders that will assist it in making an informed decision whether or not to review the regulations. Interested stakeholders have until 26 October 2018 to send back the questionnaire for consideration," said Icasa.
MultiChoice told Icasa in a letter that "MultiChoice is sympathetic to the financial difficulties currently faced by the SABC".
"However we believe it is opportunistic for the SABC to use these difficulties to motivate now for the urgent amendment of regulations which have after all, been in force for some time."
"As the SABC itself acknowledges, the main causes of its current financial crisis lies elsewhere. It is also disingenuous for the SABC to seek an urgent amendment of the regulations on the basis that they are ultra vires, 9 years after their coming into operation, in circumstances where the SABC failed to review them in the courts of law."
