by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's broadcasters like the public broadcaster SABC and eMedia's free-to-air commercial e.tv want "watertight advertising revenue limits" to be imposed on pay-TV operators like MultiChoice running DStv, with an adjusted cap on the amount of money that a pay-TV operator - making money from subscriber fees - can additionally earn from TV commercials.
eMedia also wants regulations deleted to enable it to take advertising and sponsorship of news and current affairs, including for weather forecasts and sports bulletins.
South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), has published a discussion document in the Government Gazette with e.tv and the SABC that said they're unhappy with the slice of overall TV commercial revenue DStv Media Sales gets as MultiChoice's advertising arm.
Icasa has now published the draft regulations and findings document on its review of the regulator's advertising, infomercials and programme sponsorship regulations of 1999, with broadcasters asking Icasa that "a watertight advertising revenue cap for subscription broadcasting services should be introduced".
The SABC told Icasa that it wants, among other things, an advertising cap for DStv in the form of a "reduction of advertising minutes per hour for subscription services, restrictions on the rate card discounts and any other necessary regulatory intervention".
The SABC said that its revenue from commercials on its TV channels and radio stations are declining.
eMedia said that the current advertising revenue share breaks down as 21.71% for eMedia Investments, 28.78% for the SABC and 39.02% for MultiChoice.
eMedia urged Icasa to expand the regulations to include all video streaming services available in South Africa "to protect the sustainability and viability of free-to-air services in South Africa which will mean that Icasa should consider the expansion of the proposed regulatory licensing framework to include all audio-visual content service providers and not only broadcasters".
eMedia said that with the shrinking advertising pie available to broadcasters, to ensure the continued viability of free-to-air broadcasters, "limitations need to be placed on the amount of advertising
time available to subscription broadcasters".
eMedia suggested that limitations placed on MultiChoice should be substantially more stringent than those placed on a free-to-air broadcaster, since MultiChoice has no such limitations.
eMedia goes so far as to suggest to Icasa that no advertising should be permitted on channels not produced in South Africa, or on programmes produced by any company associated with or within the group of companies providing such subscription broadcasting service - meaning MultiChoice and M-Net with its set of M-Net channels on DStv.
Meanwhile eMedia wants regulations 5.3 and 5.4 scrapped in order for advertising and sponsorship to be enabled for news and current affairs programmes, which would include for weather forecasts or sports bulletins.
MultiChoice told Icasa that the changing television landscape in South Africa "warrants an easing of the current advertising restrictions rather than the introduction of any additional restrictions".
MultiChoice, the SABC, e.tv and the insurance company OUTsurance all said that the regulations to prohibit the broadcast of infomercials during prime time on television in South Africa should be removed, with Icasa that said it will retain the status quo of regulations around so-called "squeezeback" TV ads.
While none of the broadcasters or MultiChoice said they felt that product placement (PP) in shows need to be indicated when it happens - something that is done overseas - Icasa said its position is that product placement must be signalled clearly, by means of a logo, at the beginning of the programme in which
the placement appears, and at the end of the programme.
"The reason for such provision is to provide certainty and transparency to audiences so that they are able to differentiate normal programming from product placement."
Written responses on the draft regulations must be made to Icasa by 1 June 2022.
