The subscription television broadcasting services came under the spotlight at an enquiry at Icasa‘s offices in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The regulatory body held public hearings as part of its mandate to promote competition in the broadcasting and the ICT sectors.
The purpose of this enquiry is to establish factors that have contributed to new broadcasting licensees not being able to successfully launch their services and attract a number of new subscribers.
The SABC’s main bone of contention in this enquiry is what it describes as unfair competition from its competitors.
SABC Chief Operations Officer Chris Maroleng is worried about advertising limitations among other things, saying some of the public broadcaster’s competitors seem to be benefiting from more advertising, and this gives them an unfair advantage.
The public broadcaster has proposed that the current regulations be amended to level the playing field in the broadcasting sector.
Following this enquiry, the information collected will be published for further consultation.
