Over 110 000 people sign petitions against the South African government's SABC TV Licence plan for Netflix, DStv, laptops and tablets.

by Thinus Ferreira

Over 110 000 South Africans have so far complained about and objected to the government's "SABC stealth-tax" plan through which it wants to force consumers with laptops, tablets, DStv and StarSat decoders, as well as subscribers watching Netflix and Showmax to pay for a SABC TV Licence even if they're not watching any SABC content.

Today is the deadline for South Africans to comment on the department of communications and digital technologies' controversial plan to expand the compulsory SABC TV Licence net under the Draft White Paper on Audio and Audio-visual Content Services Policy Framework. 

Thousands of people have already signed petitions against the proposed legislation changes of Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, minister of communications and digital technologies, with the proposed law that will force people to pay a SABC TV Licence fee if they have or use a laptop or tablet, if they are a DStv or StarSat or any pay-TV subscriber, or even if they're a Netflix or Showmax subscriber.

Since the first draft was issued smartphones have now been dropped from the list of devices.

By Monday over 82 000 people have signed a petition that was started by the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party in late-2020 slamming the move and saying that the "SABC must find creative ways to self-sustain and break-even without making people like you fork out any more money".

Another petition from Dear South Africa by Monday had amassed over 37 000 signatures and comments against Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams’s proposals.

The proposed changes in legislation aim to widen the catchment area and scope of compulsory SABC TV Licence fees through forcing consumers to pay for a SABC TV Licence if they have or buy a laptop or tablet even if they're not watching or listening to any SABC content.

Video content companies like MultiChoice and StarTimes SA will likewise be forced to ensure that DStv subscribers and StarSat subscribers have a SABC TV Licence or will otherwise have to tack that on the billing of their subscription fees, or will have to make sure they have one when buying a pay-TV decoder, similar to what the current situation is when buying a TV set.

According to the white paper proposals, local and international subscription video-on-demand services (SVOD) like Netflix, Showmax, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, VIU and a range of other video streamers will likewise have to ensure that every single subscriber is a valid SABC TV Licence holder or add on a SABC TV Licence fee to their existing monthly subscription fees, even if their subscribers watch no SABC content.

"The DA stands with the thousands of South Africans who reject the department of communications and digital technologies' plan to extend SABC TV licence fees to these online platforms," says Zakhele Mbhele, the party's spokesperson for communications.

"It is outrageous that South Africans need to cough up money for watching 'broadcast services' regardless of whether they watch it on a television, a computer, or a tablet. The only reason the ANC wants to amend the law to include other devices other than a television set, is to implement a 'stealth bail-out' for the SABC."

According to Sylvia Tladi, head of the SABC’s TV Licence division, South Africa now has a "digital population" of 36.54 million internet users (34.93 million mobile internet users) and the SABC wants legislation changed so that "other entities must be compelled to report on the sale, lease or usage of these 'television sets' or viewing devices".

She says "the proposed revised legislation will also motivate pay-TV operators to hold their subscribers accountable for registering or having a valid television licence before the subscription, purchase or rental of a decoder, is granted".

"Furthermore, submitted regulations aim to make it obligatory for internet streaming and television streaming websites to pay a percentage of subscription fees to the SABC, where these websites stream SABC content."

ALSO READ: Time running out for South African video consumers to say if they want DStv and Netflix to add and collect SABC TV Licence fees with their payments.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 29 October 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:

■ Some of the responses to the scandal swirling around the cheater SABC3 Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe and Outsurance frontman shows that attitudes over abuse in South Africa need to change. (subscription required)

■ No sign yet of the GoBinge sit-down interview that the YouTube channel teased days ago with Monique Muller claiming that she endured physical abuse from Katlego Maboe.

■ SABC3's Trending SA show finally addresses the issue after days; Frames it as Katlego Maboe's "private life" although it is his private life, hotel sex cheating with another woman and allegations of a STD, that were made part of public life on social media.

- Katlego Maboe fans who are fine with the swirling abuse and cheating claims around the presenter, attack SABC3's Expresso on Facebook.

- Katlego Maboe becomes a meme using his infamous gown-wearing admission that he's a cheater.

■ Sylvia Tladi, SABC TV Licence fees boss, admits that under new plan where people will be forced to pay a licence fee even if they only watch Netflix SA or MultiChoice DStv consumers won't be getting value for money.

■ Zoom: A naked man shows up on Canada's morning TV.

- And another full frontal "wardrobe malfunction" with Joel Dommett on ITV in Britain.

■ The dark, distorted world of Nicole Kidman's new TV murder mystery The Undoing that will be on M-Net (DStv 101).

■ Ellen DeGeneres, seen on VUZU (DStv 116) but getting axed there soon, lost more followers in 2020 than any other celebrity because of her talk show scandal.

- Wendy Williams unmasked as Lips in The Masked Singer.

■ The overstaffed and overburdened SABC with a monstrous wage bill and dreary programming is a broadcaster that is very hard to like.

■ eMedia Investments refuses to talk about it but e.tv has upgraded its Openview decoders that have a WiFi hotspot option and functionality now - very likely in anticipation of the launch of its Openview Plus streaming service.

■ America's TV news and its plans for 2020 election night coverage.

■ The blessing of the Chinese censors? China's state-run CCTV shows a portrait of the Prophet Muhammad in a TV series.

More South Africans than ever before feel they don't have to pay a TV Licence as the SABC plans to increase fees.

South Africans who think they should still pay for a SABC TV Licence keeps plunging, down another whopping 9% to just 40% compared to a year ago, coming at a time when the embattled public broadcaster, struggling to broadcast new content, wants to increase licence fees.

While the SABC asked the minister of communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, for a price hike of 5% in SABC TV Licence fees from R265 to R278 per year, less South African TV households are bothering to pay it, with a continuing downward trend in people who feel that they should have to pay it, or that there's anything wrong in not paying it.

According to Citizen Surveys, a South African research company, the percentage of South Africans who believe that not paying for their SABC TV Licence fee is wrong, keeps falling - down to just 40% in 2019 after another 9% plunge from 49% in 2018.

The South African public broadcaster that is in severe financial distress continues to be plagued by internal turmoil, board and top management in-fighting, corruption investigations, a stale content offering and struggling to broadcast content like soccer, rugby and other sport tournaments as it did in the past.

"At the beginning of last year, 13% of South Africans did not see any issues with those who do not pay their SABC TV licences. This rose significantly, where, in the second quarter of 2019, 21% of South Africans believed there is nothing wrong with not paying," said Reza Omar, Citizen Surveys director.


2016: Spike in people no longer paying
Sylvia Tladi, SABC acting COO, told parliament last week that the collection costs to get SABC TV Licence fees paid has kept increasing, saying the SABC found itself in a situation where "for you to be able to collect R265 you need to spend at least R25 of that".

"A portion of that R265 also goes to allocations of VAT, so you're not able to walk away with any profit from that R265, taken into account the VAT portion as well as the internal collection costs that we incur as the SABC."

"These come in many forms. We send people SMS'es, we send emails, we phone people, we pay our external agencies as well. So all those costs - when they mount on that R265, ideally the SABC does not walk away with much."

Sylvia Tladi told parliament that a lot of people stopped paying their SABC TV Licence fees in 2015.

"We've had instances of reduced compliance in 2015 and I think from a historical point of view we can all understand at that time when people really started to stop paying SABC TV Licence fees and withdrew their commitment from the SABC."

"It's unfortunate for the SABC that it started gradually in 2015 and then in 2016 it took a spike. The non-compliance numbers started to increase. In trying to bring back our TV Licence holders we need to not only focus on collecting licence fees but also need to complement that with compelling content on our platforms to gain back to confidence that our viewers used to have."


SABC TV Licence too expensive?
Bongumusa Makhathini, SABC chairperson, told parliament last week "how much do you pay a guy looking after your car at the mall parking? Surely you pay them more than 72c."

He said that "72c a day can not really justify us saying TV Licence are too expensive. Actually there are a lot of South Africans who can afford to pay R1 a day towards the SABC. If you pay a guy looking after your car more than 72c, how about SABC who gives you 19 radio stations, 5 TV channels".

Members of parliament took him to task for saying that R265 per year for a SABC TV Licence isn't expensive.

An EFF MP said "Our members in the EFF pay R10 a year. In the Eastern Cape it is extremely difficult to get our members to pay R10 for a year. That R10 for them buys bread."

"For the majority of the population it is not that easy - especially now that we've got 10 million people who are unemployed. The SABC rakes in about 6 or 7 million viewers and most of them are poor people who can't afford DStv. I think it's incorrect to say it's cheap."

The SABC appoints the boss of its TV Licence fees division Sylvia Tladi as the South African public broadcaster's next acting chief operating officer.

The South African public broadcaster has appointed Sylvia Tladi, the head of the SABC's TV Licence division as its latest acting chief operating officer (COO).

She replaces Dr Craig van Rooyen who unexpectedly quit as acting COO citing personal reasons and who replaced Chris Maroleng who was fired.

Earlier this week the SABC on Wednesday in parliament, Madoda Mxakwe said that the beleaguered and technically insolvent SABC has a massive problem with SABC TV Licences and that although the SABC's database has 9.6 million SABC TV licence fee payers, only a shockingly low 2.2 million people are still bothering to pay their licence fees, with "455 000 doing it in instalment terms. As you can see the gap is quite huge".

Sylvia Tladi runs the SABC's struggling TV licence fees division since May 2013, with the SABC that out of everybody available Sylvia Tladi "is best suited to act whilst the organisation finalises the process of appointing a permanent chief operating officer".

Sylvia Tladi joined the SABC in 2004 as the manager for business accounts at the SABC TV Licence fees division and became the compliance manager for business and retailer accounts at the division in 2011.

In 2012 Sylvia Tladi was appointed as the acting SABC TV licence division boss and was permanently appointed in the role since May 2013.

Sylvia Tladi has been in charge of managing the entire TV Licence division which has seen multiple ongoing challenges and problems ranging from system issues to the hiring and firing and non-permanent staffers angry over their employment status, and irregularities and allegations of corruption over outsourcing of work to SABC TV licence fees debt collection agencies.