SABC's dumped former group CEO Robin Nicholson is suing the SABC for R2,8 million; SABC board told beforehand there will be 'hostility'.

While a majority of SABC board members voted to extend the contract of the SABC's now inexplicably axed former acting group CEO, Robin Nicholson - plunging the beleaguered South African public broadcaster into another public scandal - the SABC board still got rid of him overnight a month ago knowing full well that there will be ''animosity'' and that it will be ''difficult to convince Robin Nicholson to assist with the transitional handover'' to Phil Molefe.

ALSO READ: The dumped Robin Nicholson ready to sue the SABC for millions of rands after the latest massive upheaval at the public broadcaster.

Robin Nicholson has issued a summons against the SABC and demands R2,8 million as well as interest and legal fees.

Justice Ndaba, the SABC's acting group head of human capital services told the SABC board - nine of which voted to extend Robin Nicholson's contract and two who voted against it - that a proper handover from Robin Nicholson to Phil Molefe is going to be ''difficult'' because of the way in which the SABC board is handling the situation.

''Since Robin Nicholson's contract is ending today, June 30, and given the hostility that would be displayed by Robin Nicholson, noting the decision by the board that his contract would not be renewed, as well as the potential for external animosity from certain quarters, possibilities of legal battles etc., it will be difficult for us to convince Robin Nicholson to assist with the transitional handover,'' Justice Ndaba wrote to the SABC board.

The SABC board offered a contract extension to Robin Nicholson while he was on holiday, and suddenly took back the offer while the SABC chairperson dr Ben Ngubane was away. Robin Nicholson has a copy of the 6 month contract extension the SABC board gave to him on 27 June and which has already been signed by dr Ben Ngubane before he left for Japan. All that was left to do was for Robin Nicholson to sign it, when the SABC board suddenly decided to bring in Phil Molefe and blindsided Robin Nicholson.

Justice Ndaba recommended to the SABC board that Robin Nicholson might have a legitimate claim against the SABC and that the broadcaster should pay Robin Nicholson the contractual amount for the 6 month contract extension offered, since the SABC has created a legitimate expectation with the signed contract by dr Ben Ngubane that Robin Nicholson is getting to stay on.

The SABC has not responded to media enquiries made.

BREAKING. The SABC's dumped Robin Nicholson wants R1,5 million from the broadcaster after he was offered a contract extension.

Will the SABC have to turn and cough? (again)

After the R11 million the SABC payed out to its axed group CEO Dali Mpofu, and the then R3,4 million the SABC payed out to get its suspended group CEO Solly Mokoetle to go away, the dumped Robin Nicholson who was the SABC's chief financial officer (CFO) and acting group CEO until the end of June now wants R1,5 million from the beleaguered South African public broadcaster.

Robin Nicholson has been with the SABC for a decade since 2011. Robin Nicholson claims the SABC board offered him a 6 month extension of his contract as acting group CEO at the SABC which was suddenly taken back while he was on leave. He will now be filing a claim for damages of R1,5 million.

ALSO READ: Full and complete coverage of the SABC's latest executive scandal.

BREAKING. The dumped Robin Nicholson ready to sue the SABC for millions after the latest massive upheaval at the public broadcaster.

The dumped Robin Nicholson whom the SABC ''wished well with his future endeavours'' after suddenly getting rid of its chief financial officer (CFO) and acting group CEO who was on leave this week in the Free State, is going to sue the South Africa public broadcaster for millions of rands for the way in which the SABC has tossed him aside after a decade.

Robin Nicholson who started at the SABC in 2001 and became the acting group CEO in September 2010 has full knowledge of the SABC's financials, helped craft the broadcaster's current turnaround strategy, knows exactly how the SABC faulted in previous executive dismissals and had to go about making million rand payouts, and knows exactly where all the public broadcaster's skeletons are buried.

The SABC suddenly and without warning replaced Robin Nicholson with Phil Molefe as the new acting group CEO this week, while the SABC has eyed Tau Morwe, CEO of the Transnet National Ports Authority to take over as the permanent new group CEO of the SABC.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the SABC offered Robin Nicholson an extension on his contract for a further few months as acting group CEO worth R3 million last Friday - only to suddenly not go through with the offer this past Wednesday. It's understood that the new massive upheaval within top SABC ranks is presumably also why SABC board member Peter Harris, appointed in September 2009, suddenly quit this past Friday.

ALSO READ: Callously killing itself: How the SABC as a Ouroboros broadcasting beast, fuels its own destruction by devouring its own.
ALSO READ: Full and complete coverage of the SABC's latest scandal involving the dumping of Robin Nicholson, the resignation of Peter Harris as SABC board member and the sudden appointment of Phil Molefe as new acting group CEO.

BREAKING. It's Friday, so of course it means SCANDAL is again engulfing the SABC: Robin Nicholson says he isn't leaving ... and has a contract!

Robin Nicholson plans to be at work on Monday, although the SABC just told me that yesterday was the last day for Robin Nicholson at the SABC, as the public broadcaster's chief financial officer and acting group CEO.

Cue ... labour dispute! The SABC just showed Robin Nicholson the door, although the SABC initially said that Robin Nicholson's contract has been extended further. Then suddenly the SABC announced this morning that Robin Nicholson is out (''we wish him well with his future endeavours'') and Phil Molefe is in as the new acting group CEO.

Of course there is also the SABC board member Peter Harris who resigned yesterday as SABC board member, which is also sending shockwaves. Is Peter Harris' resignation as SABC board member connected to this new madness and scandal engulfing the public broadcaster?

ALSO READ: Phil Molefe suddenly appointed as the new acting group CEO at the SABC; immediately replacing Robin Nicholson.
ALSO READ: Mike Siluma suddenly appointed as the new acting head of news and current affairs at the SABC.
ALSO READ: Peter Harris unexpectedly resigns as SABC board member.
ALSO READ: SABC's Robin Nicholson isn't going anywhere; contract extended long ago.

As far as I have it, Robin Nicholson has a running, extended contract as acting group CEO with the SABC, and the suddenly-issued press release this morning by the broadcaster, seemed incredibly strange. The South African TV industry is already buzzing with the new scandal and seemingly new executive in-fighting within the SABC.

Why would the SABC have told the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications that there's no need to worry that Robin Nicholson is going anywhere, then suddenly get the power to appoint management executives, then say Phil Molefe is immediately replacing Robin Nicholson? Very weird and very strange.

BREAKING. SABC1 channel head Ray Nkwe is getting the boot and shown the door by the public broadcaster.

In a shocking ouster SABC1 channel head Ray Nkwe is getting the boot, with the South African public broadcaster firing the general manager of South Africa's biggest TV channel.

Numerous insider sources are telling me that the SABC is planning to get rid of all channel heads to possibly be replaced by just one executive that will be overseeing SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3. As yet, I haven't heard of any ''you're fired'' letters being given to SABC2 channel head Bessie Tugwane or SABC3 channel head Mate Mosito-Okaba.

Ray Nkwe however has been advised by letter that his services as channel head of SABC1 will no longer be needed as the SABC's acting group CEO Robin Nicholson is going on a major firing spree to rid the broadcaster of top structure managers. The longtime Ray Nkwe being shown the door as SABC1 channel head is set to send shockwaves through the TV industry in the week to come. I have asked Ray Nkwe and SABC1 for comment about his coming retrenchment and I'm waiting for a response.

Ray Nkwe presided over the attempt to improve the SABC1 primetime line-up this past August branded as ''Mzansi Fo Sho Reloaded'' with mixed success. Under Ray Nkwe's tenure as chanel head SABC1 embarked on a push to more low quality glam entertainment magazine shows, titilating trash like Intersexions and banal reality shows like Dance Your Butt Off and the advertiser-funded Class Act that's not really in line with the SABC's supposed ethos of being a public broadcaster. And then there's Relentless - a new ''R10 million'' reality show that SABC1 is supposedly working on. The disastrous 1st Annual Stars of Mzansi Awards in 2008, the public broadcaster's attempt to create an award show if its own, also happened under Ray Nkwe's watch and never went beyond ''1st annual''.

BREAKING. SABC signs a deal to show the Indian cricket tour in December and January on SABC3.

I just heard from the SABC moments ago telling me that the broadcaster has secured the rights to the Indian tour and will show it live on SABC3 from next week and into January.

SABC3 will broadcast live the three Caste test matches, five MTN One Day Internationals and one Standard Bank International Pro20 match.

''This deal with Cricket South Africa to broadcast the Indian Tour live is an indication of the corporation's commitment to sporting codes of national importance,'' says Robin Nicholson, the SABC's acting group CEO in a just-released press statement. The first Castle test match takes place at SuperSport Park in Centurion from 16 December.

THE END OF THE SABC OWNING EVERYTHING . . .? Why it could be happening sooner than you think.

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Could it change? Possibly. And faster than what we might think. Currently the SABC owns everything it broadcasts (technically 99,5% - there's some super selective exceptions) with stringent commissioning contracts in which local producers basically sign away their intellectual property rights to their productions to the South African public broadcaster. That could soon change.

In an interesting remark missed by the rest of the press, the SABC in its appearance this week before parliament, said that it will relook intellectual property rights - long a stifling issue that actually inhibits growth in the local TV production industry. There might be a bigger incentive for producers to produce programming if they could own it and for instance sell it to various broadcasters with various licensing windows, which isnt currently really the case in South Africa.

The now defunct wannabe satellitel TV operator Telkom Media wanted to upturn the industry with this "new'' model where producers own their content and only sell the rights for which a broadcaster then pays. TopTV as a satellite TV operator and DStv's Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) are also both on record saying they're moving in this direction, which is probably what is adding to impetus to the SABC's sudden lip service of relaxing its grip on owning the content it commission from producers.

''The SABC owns everything,'' Robin Nicholson, the SABC's acting group CEO said this week before parliament's portfolio committee on communications explaining the SABC's current funding model for local productions and the bubble of intellectual property ownership. But look at what he said immediately after that: ''Maybe that has to change. Maybe that has to move towards renting some; sharing some, rather than owning everything.''

This hiddden but actually huge admission is the first overt indication that the South African public broadcaster has seemingly realized that its stranglehold on the local production industry can no longer endure. With more independent players changing and radically starting to alter the local production TV landscape, producers are getting more options and breathing room to shop their content elsewhere. If the SABC does want to try and get or retain the best TV programming as it declared this week, Fawlty Tower's hiherto ivory tower commissioning contracts and terms of intellectual property retention will inevitable be changing to a more open and fair dispensation.

The SABC admits: ''Television is the ultimate democracy. We'll have to do something special to try and get viewers back.''

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The South African public broadcaster yesterday in parliament admitted that its lost it way and lost longtime viewers who, in growing numbers, are voting with their remote controls to no longer watch what the beleaguered SABC dishes up on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.

''How do we get and attrach audiences back to our platforms?'' was the rhetorical question from Robin Nicholson, the SABC's acting group CEO answering questions in front of parliamentary portfolio committee on communications. ''I don't want to disclose all of those here but getting audiences back does have to do with changing the schedules, change when programmes are on air; more Afrikaans on SABC3 may be an option,'' he said.

''Television is the ultimate democracy,'' said Robin Nicholson. ''It costs nothing to vote with your remote. You just push the button and you're somewhere else. We do understand that. As the SABC we understand that we'll have to do something special to try and get viewers back.''

''The SABC faces strong competition about retaining audiences,'' Robin Nicholson said, ''not just from community broadcasters such as SowetoTV (DStv 150) and Mzansi Magic (DStv 107). The best way to compete is to have the best programming. If other platforms are producing local South African content, it enriches us all.''

Regarding sport broadcasting Robin Nicholson said that sport rights cost the SABC R500 million a year in losses, ''so you have to find a new model to fund sport in South Africa rather than relying on the public broadcaster to do it.'' Regarding the SABC's self-named ''content hub'' where the broadcaster generates and procures TV content, Robin Nicholson said ''there's a lot of money tied up at things not working well [at the SABC].''

''Whether it's bad scheduling, bad programming, buying too much international content, commissioning the wrong local content, not delivering the audiences . . . the operating model is a really big thing for the SABC to get right to reduce its costs.''

BREAKING. The SABC is no longer investing in digital terrestrial television (DTT) other than keeping its pilot project on the air.

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The SABC is no longer investing further money in its digital terrestrial television (DTT) pilot project, other than keeping it on the air and broadcasting what its been doing the past few months.

''We're not investing any more in the DTT project other than keeping it on the air until we understand what the DTT broadcasting standards for South Africa are and what the roll-out dates are,'' said Robin Nicholson, the acting group CEO of the SABC in a parliamentary hearing of the SABC board. ''We've done the technical evaluation and now we're waiting.''

''We're waiting for the regulations and standards. The SABC has proven its capability to broadcast DTT; we continue to do so. There is no roll-out of set top boxes (STB's), there is no DTT standards.''

ALSO READ: The details on M-Net and e.tv's DVB-T2 digital terrestrial television trial.