The Bay TV community TV station in the Eastern Cape has officially rebranded as Mpuma Kapa TV.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Bay TV community TV station in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape has officially rebranded as Mpuma Kapa TV (DStv 260).

Mpuma Kapa TV remains the only community TV station broadcasting in the Eastern Cape since it launched in 2011 and has roughly around 1.8 million viewers since it launched in the Nelson Mandela Bay area as an independent community station.

Mpuma Kapa TV in a press release says that "The rebranding is an exciting new journey for the channel" and that the name change "encompasses the entire Eastern Cape province, moving away from the identity of its former self, of only being known or seen as a Nelson Mandela Bay channel".

"Mpuma Kapa means Eastern Cape, the home of legends. The channel is excited to showcase this province which is the birthplace of many South African legends and giants. The content, the look and the production are homegrown, with the new state of the art studios, donated by MultiChoice, it will be bringing the fire to your homes."

Mpuma Kapa TV says that the channel has new advertising opportunities and sponsorship for brands and companies and that it plans to continue to grow its viewership and ratings.

"Being home to the second-highest spoken language in the country and ethic group, and ensuring all our beautiful and diverse cultures in the Eastern Cape are represented, advertisers are sure to get value for money," Mpuma Kapa TV says.

ALSO READ: Eastern Cape's Mpuma Kapa TV adds Ekhondweni as a new short drama series fully filmed in the province with a local cast.

ALSO READ: Port Elizabeth's Bay TV community station officially unveils its upgraded studio and control room facilities with the help of MultiChoice.

ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. 29 photos of the Bay TV community TV station's official inauguration ceremony of its upgraded studio and control room in Port Elizabeth done with the help of MultiChoice.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice on why it helps community TV stations in South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth: 'We want a video entertainment sector that has many players who serve and understand the nuances of communities'. 

Coronavirus: Bay TV community channel adds QuaranTV as weekday edutainment slot for school children.

by Thinus Ferreira

The community TV station Bay TV (DStv 260) in Port Elizabeth has added QuaranTV as a new weekday edutainment slot prompted by kids staying home during South Africa's Covid-19 national lockdown period.

QuaranTV was added to the Bay TV schedule, started on 8 April 2020, and is broadcast on weekdays at 17:30.

QuaranTV is a joint effort by the Masifunde Learner Development, Masinyusane and United Through Sport. QuaranTV targets primary and high school learners with content ranging from music and visual arts, drama, health, literacy, cooking, sports and meditation.

Fiks Mahola, Masinyusane co-founder, says "All three organisations focus on education and activation of children and youth in their own specific way. To sit at home without being able to work with our learners directly in a phase when they most probably need our assistance, did not feel right. Together we created the idea to launch QuaranTV".

Laura Klapper, programme manager at Masifunde LD, says "We are currently looking at continuing after the lockdown as we feel it's an effective way to reach out to children with limited access to the internet".

"We're looking forward to professionalising our content as we are quite limited in resources due to the lockdown."

MultiChoice on why it helps community TV stations in South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth: 'We want a video entertainment sector that has many players who serve and understand the nuances of communities'.

The MultiChoice Group that has been investing in and helping community TV stations across South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth with equipment upgrades, technical training and content-sharing partnerships on community-level, says the pay-TV service is doing so to build out bigger and more video entertainment players in the country's broadcasting sector.

MultiChoice says that South Africa's community TV stations will not escape the onslaught of the rapid technological changes and innovation and the drastic global consumption trends that are sweeping the world and impacting all broadcasters, and will have to make adequate preparations, adapt and change with it, to ensure their ongoing existence and relevance as well.

On Thursday Port Elizabeth's Bay TV (DStv 260) officially unveiled its upgraded green-screen studi and control room facilities that are part of a R2 million upgrade investment in the community TV station from the MultiChoice Group.

The studio, servers, cameras and control room investment will help Bay TV as a community TV channel to improve its production values and on-air playout quality with the station that serves viewers in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in the Eastern Cape but can be watched nationally in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service as well.

The upgraded Bay TV facilities include digital mobile news-gathering DMNG Pro 180 – RA (3G/4G) with a downlink server and uplink; 8 professional studio cameras; as well as a digital screen panel for alternate backdrops.

In 2014, MultiChoice donated a state-of-the-art final control centre (FCC) to Bay TV and in 2018 MultiChoice installed a studio and control room, making it possible for Bay TV to produce their own talk shows, news and other local content.

Mandla Ndlovu, MultiChoice's senior manager for corporate social investment (CSI) and transformation, about Bay TV said "you can't take for granted what it takes to build a TV station from nothing to what Bay TV is today".

"For us, it really reinforces our vision, which is a video entertainment sector that has many players; players who are able to understand their communities; players who are able to build opportunities for young people, and players who are able to bring the nuances of communities to the fore."

"That is why we invest in local community TV stations because we believe that the story of local communities, of young people, the story of our history - all of those stories are important and the best people to tell those stories are these TV stations."

"For Bay TV we were not just looking at helping to improve the studio or final control centre (FCC). We also look at what goes on to the screens - what do people see, and to what degree are the people putting this together trained," said Mandla Ndlovu.

"So what we've done over the past few years - in fact, it's been 5 years now that we've been investing in Bay TV in particular - we started with the FCC in 2014 ... so it was the equipment and then the content that goes with it."

"We also help to train the young people who work at Bay TV or Soweto TV on how to use this equipment. So they've become hot property now. You find them everywhere. You find them at SABC. You find them at e.tv. You find them at MultiChoice. But they started here."

"If you look at Bonang Matheba's show or Somizi's show and you track where that show comes from, you'll find that it's being produced by a young person who came from one of South Africa's community TV stations."

"A few weeks ago we had a State of the Province address in the Eastern Cape province and Bay TV carried that State of the Province address live. So from what Bay TV was in 2011 to what it is today, we are very, very proud."

"Bay TV, along with all the other community TV stations, need to understand that this environment of video entertainment is changing. They are not going to be competing with MultiChoice or e.tv or the SABC. There are now a lot of other players."

"So they are growing in a field where they are going to have to compete with people who are watching TV on devices in the taxi, or at work, or wherever they are watching."

So as TV stations like Bay TV and others grow, they need to be cognisant of what they need to achieve. They need to win all of those viewers," said Mandla Ndlovu.

Finding and building local broadcasting talent at community level
Motse Mfuleni, Bay TV chairperson, said "the important part is that you must build the talent locally so that they're able to tell the stories locally".

"It's important to use the expertise of these people for the Eastern Cape as well as Nelson Mandela Bay which includes Port Elizabeth, Dispatch and Uitenhage and not have that talent leaving the province and the Bay".

"Without talent, you're not going to be able to tell these stories. The biggest asset is Bay TV being able to play a role in skills development in television without people having to go to Johannesburg and Cape Town to work in the film and video content industry."

"Bay TV allows local content developers a platform to have airtime to show the portfolio of their work, without having to worry about waiting to be commissioned by a broadcaster. It's also important to reflect the cultural diversity of this region."

The TV and radio presenter Zizo Tshwete said "In this upgraded facilities the studio is beautiful and certainly the promise for the future looks absolutely bright for the Bay TV broadcasts that will be happening here".

Sibongiseni Tyali, Bay TV's head of production said "What Bay TV has done for people who want to enter the local media space is that it has given them a different avenue".

Reinhardt Botha, final control centre (FCC) controller at Bay TV, said "Bay TV has given me the opportunity to grow as a person and as a media professional as well".

Monwabisi Nzimela, the head of admin and HR at Bay TV, said "It has been an interesting journey. All I can tell you is that you learn new things every day and with all the challenges that are there, you get to understand that TV is changing on a daily basis.

A platform for local content creators to tell their stories
Joe Heshu, MultiChoice's group executive for corporate affairs, said that a community TV station like Bay TV is a platform for local content creators to "tell their stories - to tell stories about Nelson Mandela Bay, and in so doing create a talent pool that can help feed all of South Africa, and indeed take our stories to the world as we see Bay TV alumni going on and doing great things".

Tony Duba, an ANC political party member and portfolio chairperson for economic development, finance, tourism and environmental affairs in the Eastern Cape provincial legislature committee, said "Seven years ago Bay TV took its first steps as an infant in the South African TV industry but has since them claimed its rightful place as the voice of the people of not only Nelson Mandela Bay but of the entire Eastern Cape".

"The media industry in South Africa, in general, is a 'survival of the fittest' industry that is highly monopolised - which is highly monopolised."

"For community TV entities like Bay TV to survive it means people with passion and drive who are willing to kick open doors if they are not answered".

"I'm quite certain that to a large degree the pillar of support of Bay TV to date has been the support it has received from government and other progressive partners such as MultiChoice who are true to their conviction of pursuing the transformation agenda in our society."

"The Eastern Cape government has for many years been vocal about the need to transform and support new players in the media industry," said Tony Duba.

"Ownership of the industry is still too white. And what we must understand is that those who are at the top are not willing to lower the ladder so that the rest of us can climb to the top," said Tony Duba.

"This, therefore, exposes us to a dangerous situation where the few players in the broadcasting media are forcing their narrow narrative down our throats because they have means of control. As government, we have communicated our intention to transform the industry."


ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. 29 photos of the Bay TV community TV station's official inauguration ceremony of its upgraded studio and control room in Port Elizabeth done with the help of MultiChoice.
ALSO READ: Port Elizabeth's Bay TV community station officially unveils its upgraded studio and control room facilities with the help of MultiChoice.

Port Elizabeth's Bay TV community station officially unveils its upgraded studio and control room facilities with the help of MultiChoice.

Port Elizabeth's Bay TV (DStv 260) officially unveiled its upgraded green-screen studio and adjacent control room facilities that are part of a R2 million upgrade investment in the community TV station by the MultiChoice Group.

The studio, servers, cameras and control room investment will help Bay TV as a community TV channel to improve its production values and on-air playout quality with the station that serves viewers in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in the Eastern Cape but can be watched nationally in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service as well.

The upgraded Bay TV facilities include digital mobile news-gathering DMNG Pro 180 – RA (3G/4G) with a downlink server and uplink; 8 professional studio cameras; as well as a digital screen panel for alternate backdrops.

In 2014, MultiChoice donated a state-of-the-art final control centre (FCC) to Bay TV and in 2018 MultiChoice installed a studio and control room, making it possible for Bay TV to produce their own talk shows, news and other local content.

Bay TV now broadcasts for 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

On Thursday evening Bay TV and MultiChoice held an official inauguration and handover ceremony under a big white marquee tent in front of the Bay TV offices in Port Elizabeth to celebrate the station's technical infrastructure revamp.

"The biggest asset we have is the ability for skills development in television and we are able to use a platform such as this to develop our people to tell our own stories - because without talent you are not going to be able to do that," said Motse Mfuleni, Bay TV chairperson, who spoke at the event.

Motse Mfuleni said ongoing investment into Bay TV as well as other community TV stations across South Africa is important to help independent community television channels in the country to find and grow local talent in their own communities.

"We have seen talent that we have developed and grown, feed the broader media community - whether it be at technical level, camera crews, engineers and presenters. Our passion is about creating a platform for out talent to profile their work without having to go through what can be arduous and restrictive commissioning processes."

Bay TV is one of 6 South African community TV stations that MultiChoice is supporting, providing equipment, training opportunities, as well as content. The other channels are Tshwane TV, Gau TV, 1KZN TV, Soweto TV and Cape Town TV (CTV).

In 2018 CTV in a submission to South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), revealed the massive extent to which community TV stations in South Africa are dependent for their financial survival on the money and support they are receiving from MultiChoice without which they would essentially shut down.

"Carriage on national pay-TV platforms is essential to the survival of the community TV channels in the current broadcasting environment," CTV told the broadcasting regulator last year.

Joe Heshu, MultiChoice's group executive for corporate affairs in a statement about the Bay TV investment and upgrades, says "For us it's about broadening access to African story-telling and creating platforms for local content creators to tell their stories, and in so doing, creating a talent pipeline that can feed all of South African and indeed take our stories to the world".

Joe Heshu says "Through our investments in infrastructure, technology and empowerment initiatives, we are proud to empower an entertainment supply chain which in turn supports local business and communities. In turn, and for stations like Bay TV, this means more local content for local communities".

"We continue to play a significant role in communities touched by our business operations by adding economic value, creating enterprise and employment opportunities, providing training opportunities and technical support, which ultimately grows and empowers the video entertainment sector."

Beyond the physical infrastructure and technical equipment upgrades at community TV stations, MultiChoice also has an ongoing partnership with community TV stations for the provision of content – specifically for the MultiChoice Diski and SuperSport Rugby Challenge events.

The Diski Challenge, done in partnership with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) gives young people opportunities to gain and improve broadcasting skills through the production of football content.

The various community TV channels receive full content distribution rights from MultiChoice for all content generated for the Diski and Rugby challenge, including all live matches, non-live match and all highlights packages. 

In addition, the community TV channels also have the right to generate their own content from related events on and off the field.

"Sharing these broadcast rights not only ensures the community channels become involved in the delivery of high-quality, live sports content to their audiences but also positions the channels to gain stronger market presence, which will improve their ability to commercialise the content over time," says Joe Heshu.

"We also provide technical support and equipment to the channels to ensure that they can receive and make use of the content rights so that they can improve the quality of their overall broadcast delivery."

ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. 29 photos of the Bay TV community TV station's official inauguration ceremony of its upgraded studio and control room in Port Elizabeth done with the help of MultiChoice.
ALSO READ: MultiChoice on why it helps community TV stations in South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth: 'We want a video entertainment sector that has many players who serve and understand the nuances of communities'.

IN IMAGES. 29 photos of the Bay TV community TV station's official inauguration ceremony of its upgraded studio and control room in Port Elizabeth done with the help of MultiChoice.

On Thursday evening Bay TV (DStv 260), the community TV station in Port Elizabeth, held a media event at its premises as part of an official inauguration ceremony to celebrate upgrades to its new studio and final control centre (FCC), that was made possible by MultiChoice.

The 7-year old Bay TV station held a "Homecoming" branded ceremony under a white marquee tent just outside its front door, that was broadcast live on Bay TV on Thursday night and where singers Vusi Nova and Zahara performed.

The evening's hosts were Zizo Tshwete and comedian Mbulelo Msongelwa.

The national media, representatives from the provincial Eastern Cape government, MultiChoice, the broadcasting regulator Icasa, Port Elizabeth celebrities and media,  as well as Bay TV executive, producers, staffers and on-air talent attended.

Here are some photos of the event:

ALSO READ: Port Elizabeth's Bay TV community station officially unveils its upgraded studio and control room facilities with the help of MultiChoice.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice on why it helps community TV stations in South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth: 'We want a video entertainment sector that has many players who serve and understand the nuances of communities'.

Cape Town Television (CTV) makes shocking revelations to the broadcasting regulator about how all of South Africa's community TV stations are dependent on money from the pay-TV giant, MultiChoice, for their survival.

Cape Town TV (CTV) is shocking South Africa's TV industry in a submission to the broadcasting regulator, with eye-popping revelations about the degree to which community TV stations have all become dependent for their live blood on feeding off of MultiChoice for its financial survival, including channel carriage for ratings and infrastructure support.

And they're desperate for more.

Community TV channels in South Africa are battling a persistent existential crisis and they want the broadcasting regulator to create and introduce fixed formal rules to ensure that MultiChoice will support and give money to the community TV stations.

The Cape Town community TV channel, in its written submission to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) detailed the extend to which community TV stations, supposed to serve and be sustained by their respective city and regional viewers, have in a sense become dotted little MultiChoice TV outposts across the country - community channels that are not supposed to be commercialised, but getting money from a pay-TV business.

Community TV stations are now heavily dependent on the Naspers pay-TV giant for literally millions in financial support and infrastructure upgrades - and they gladly take it just to survive.

It does however raise serious questions about the degree to which community television stations in South Africa are really independent, and able to function independently, when their financial positions and operational existence is so largely tied to MultiChoice pumping millions of rand into these stations - as well as dictating terms in some stifling contract stipulations that their audiences are blissfully unaware of.

Icasa on Monday started a week-long session of oral hearings in Johannesburg as part of a yet another new inquiry by the regulator about subscription television broadcasting services, or in layman's terms "pay-TV" in South Africa.

Icasa wants to try and find out how to possibly better regulate South Africa's pay-TV industry where Naspers' MultiChoice, although not enjoying a monopoly, dominates the market with its DStv satellite pay-TV service with brands like SuperSport and M-Net that have the cash and willingness to scoop up premium international entertainment and local and international sports rights, often with exclusive licensing and broadcasting window contracts.

Icasa already received written presentations from the SABC, South African Rugby, South African Cricket, e.tv, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Econet Media's Kwese TV, Vodacom, MTV, Liquid Telecom, the Association of Community TV in South Africa (ACT-SA), Cape Town TV (CTV), Deukom, Cell C, Telkom, as well as a joint submission by the Support Public Broadcasting (SOS Coalition) and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA).

Several of these current and wannabe broadcasting sphere players as well as organisations are also be making oral presentations throughout this week.

CTV written submission - deliberately or unintentionally - rips the veil off of the extremely precarious position that community TV in South Africa finds itself in.

The submission paints a picture of just how horrifically bad and tenuous the existence of community TV channels are and who are to a large (and unhealthy) degree dependent on not just money from MultiChoice, but also infrastructure help and to lift ratings and increase audience reach through channel carriage.


Community TV in SA no longer able to survive without DStv

CTV that began broadcasting in September 2008 and has been carried on DStv since 2012, says in its submission that "all of the licensed community TV channels in South Africa are carried on MultiChoice's DStv platform and rely on this carriage to sustain their audience numbers".

"Carriage on national pay-TV platforms is essential to the survival of the community TV channels in the current broadcasting environment and consequently there must be a 'must carry, must pay' obligation on MultiChoice to carry community channels."

The irony is this: While community TV stations are supposed to broadcast to their communities in cities and provinces, because of their channels' carriage on MultiChoice, the majority audience share of community TV stations is on DStv.

It means that people watch community TV channels not through terrestrial TV means but as a channel through and on DStv.

"Unfortunately DStv has been allowed to become so dominant in South Africa today, that it is simply not possible for free-to-air broadcasters to survive on free-to-air distribution alone," says CTV.


Community TV channels being on DStv 'essential to their survival'
In shocking viewership figures, CTV's submission includes ratings data from January 2017, showing just how many DStv subscribers are watching community TV channels not on a free-to-air basis, but on DStv.


January 2017
Channel                         BayTV       Cape Town TV   Soweto TV    Tshwane TV    1KZN TV
National (all platforms)  2 836 029      2 723 684             6 587 924         2 902 519          3 832 200
DStv                                    2 696 806       2 188 519             4 168 855         2 520 315          3 489 094
Free-to-air                              139 223         535 165              2 419 069            382 204             343 106
Percentage DStv                 95.5%              80.35%               63.28%             86.83%          91.05%


It clearly shows that all community TV stations in South Africa gained the majority of their viewership from their presence on MultiChoice's DStv. Some channels have over 90% of their audience solely on, and coming from, DStv.

"It is important to note that in this context, the presence of community channels on the national platform provided by DStv is essential to their survival," says CTV in its submission.


MultiChoice's infrastructure help

CTV says "MultiChoice has been spending large amounts of money on building infrastructure for the community channels, although this spend has been uneven and some channels have benefited more than others".

CTV reveals in its submission that MultiChoice's spending spree on community TV channels kicked off in 2014 when Naspers' pay-TV operator gave R5 million for the construction of a Final Control Centre for Bay TV in Port Elizabeth when that channel was still licensed as a free-to-air community channel.

"Bay TV subsequently lost its terrestrial broadcast licence and is now carried only on DStv," says CTV.

"MultiChoice has also invested heavily in Zallywood's Tshwane TV and 1KZN TV; we do not know the extent of its involvement with Soweto TV."

"MultiChoice has also donated equipment and is funding the development of studio and broadcasting infrastructure at Cape Town TV; and MultiChoice pays for the fibre link which carries Cape Town TV's broadcast signal to Johannesburg for ingest and broadcast on the DStv platform."

MultiChoice has also given its Diski Challenge soccer matches to community broadcasters unders its corporate social investment (CSI) banner with community TV channels that are allowed to broadcast these matches if they want, at their own discretion.


MultiChoice's carriage contract for CTV has limiting stipulations

CTV reveals in its submission to Icasa that from 2012 to 2017 the contract between MultiChoice and Cape Town TV carried a clause which prevented CTV from being carried on any other pay-TV platform, like for instance StarSat as a community TV station.

CTV says it "was forced to accede to this provision because it would not be viable for it to lose its DStv audience while the other pay-TV providers occupied such a miniscule segment of the market".

Cape Town TV says that it is in the process of negotiating a new contract with MultiChoice, with MultiChoice that has "offered terms" such as "deletion of the exclusivity clause which prevented carriage of Cape Town TV on other pay-TV platforms".

This two-sided sword however, comes with another downside.

CTV says MultiChoice would then as (b) prohibit CTV from "from advertising that it is carried on other pay-TV or any digital, online platform, should it be so carried, on the DStv platform; (c) that MultiChoice will pay Cape Town TV an annual fee of R1 million for its carriage on the DStv platform; and (d) MultiChoice will also pay for the fibre link that carries the Cape Town TV signal from Cape Town to Johannesburg".

CTV told Icasa that "Cape Town TV believes that point (b) will have negative consequences for its ability to trade in the online space and is consequently arguing that this clause be altered to allow for cross-channel advertising."


CTV: MultiChoice must pay community TV - and it should be enforced

CTV says that "in addition to the above negotiations around contractual arrangements between MultiChoice and Cape Town TV, MultiChoice has indicated that it intends to standardise its contributions to community television channels".

"We assume that this means that MultiChoice will spend equal amounts on all of the community channels that it carries."

"The above-mentioned interactions indicate that MultiChoice is both carrying SA's community channels on its DStv platform and paying and/or supporting them through financial and other contributions."

"We believe this is overall a positive feature of the broadcast environment; however this support is purely at the discretion of MultiChoice and we believe that regulatory enforcement of this situation by ICASA will secure the sustainability of the community channels going forward."

CTV says "with regard to monetary contributions from MultiChoice to the community channels, we believe this should be independently regulated by Icasa and not left to the discretion of MultiChoice".

"Icasa should arrive at a formula for calculating the amount which DStv pays to community channels in exchange for their carriage on the platform, their concomitant appeal to audiences on this platform and their promotion of the DStv platform on the community channels, together with MultiChoice's CSI obligations."


Concerns over possible pay-community TV

CTV tells Icasa that it is worried over the Association of Community TV South Africa (ACT-SA) that  supports the possible introduction of pay-community TV stations in South Africa and that such a thing would "commercialise" the community TV sector even more.

"It's concerning that ACT-SA called for the licensing of subscription community television services which would be 'provided through satellite, cable or any other technology'. We believe that this aspect of the ACT-SA submission is aimed not only at further commercialising the sector, but that it refers to the initiation of commercial local channels on DStv which compete directly in this same space with the free-to-air community channels."

"This is occurring through the channel authorisation procedure whereby Icasa is called upon to authorise new channels on the pay-TV platforms."

"A case in point is that of Gau-TV, a channel owned by the Zallywood company that runs Tshwane TV, and which competes directly with Soweto TV," says CTV.

CTV says "ICASA must pay more attention to its channel authorisation process with a view to minimizing unfair competition between local channels on DStv".


ALSO READ: e.tv warns South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, that the free-to-air broadcasting sector in the country is under threat and needs urgent protection as a new inquiry into SA's pay-TV market kicks off.