In response to proposals from the SABC (South Africa’s public broadcaster) to restrict the level of advertising revenue that pay-TV operators can access, MultiChoice (Africa’s biggest Pay-Tv company) has now told ICASA (the industry regulator) that, in its view, regulations on advertising revenue should be further loosened, not tightened.
In South Africa, the current regulations have not been reviewed or updated substantially since 1999. ICASA is holding meetings to prepare a position paper to amend the rules by March of next year.
The internet and over-the-top streaming services like Netflix have managed to draw advertisers – and their money – away from traditional television broadcasts during the previous two decades, putting pressure on revenue sources. However, free-to-air broadcasters claim that while the pie is shrinking, certain industry players are still getting too big a chunk.
The SABC encouraged ICASA to look at a revenue cap for pay-tv services, while eMedia suggested a proportional revenue regime. However, according to Lucasta Stephen of DStv media sales, broadcasters had a challenging year due to the impact of Covid-19 on advertisers – and the planned remedies would not help.
MultiChoice advocate Michelle Norton argued that broadcasters were in a precarious position and that they would be better off if there were fewer limits on their ability to generate revenue rather than more. With a changing world and broadcasting sector, Lara Kantor, General Manager: Regulatory at MultiChoice, believes that limitations on new platforms were a viable option. However, she also cautioned against overly rigorous content regulation, claiming that broadcasters can ensure that advertising on their platforms is not unsuitable even in the absence of external restrictions.
MultiChoice reported to ICASA that worldwide television ad spends been surpassed by ad spend dedicated to online and mobile platforms since 2017. Even though free-to-air broadcasters have a few television channels between them, they nevertheless maintain a 60 per cent to 65 per cent share of the television advertising industry. Therefore, there is no need to consider further limitations, according to the pay-tv provider.
MultiChoice also recommended that ICASA ensure that the revised legislation is applied to future ‘TV-like’ audio-visual services.
