Press Release: SOS Coalition to host inaugural Summit on the Future of Public Interest Television Broadcasting

The SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition is proud to host its inaugural Summit on the Future of Public Interest Television Broadcasting on the 8th of July. It comes at a critical juncture, marking 20 years since 2006 when the South African government agreed to the deadline of June 2015 set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the switchover to digital TV broadcasting.

When the Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) process began, the government promised that no-one would be left behind. Yet today, millions of South Africans remain at risk of losing access to television news and information if the analogue switch-off (ASO) goes ahead without people having access to the digital broadcasts via new generation TV sets or set top boxes (and other appropriate means). This would ensure that an overwhelming majority of the 3.8 million households who currently still rely on analogue television continue to have access to information.

The BDM project has been widely criticised for flawed implementation resulting from inadequate rollout of digital decoders to low-income households and a lack of these devices in the retail market. This failure has resulted in the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies being subjected to multiple court cases to prevent a premature ASO.

The digital migration poses serious threats to the sustainability of free-to-air (FTA) television broadcasting in South Africa through the loss of TV audiences and high signal distribution costs.

Meanwhile, the media environment has evolved dramatically, driven by traditional TV audiences shifting to online services. This movement has negatively affected television broadcasters along with their funding models as ad spend moved increasingly to other online services, threatening the sustainability of FTA television.

The SOS Coalition is convening this summit to confront the full range of challenges facing the FTA television sector and to chart the future of television broadcasting in a rapidly changing technological and media environment.

The summit aims to explore practical policy, regulatory, technological and funding interventions to develop a shared vision for universal access to public interest broadcast and online services.

The SOS Coalition believes this summit represents a vital opportunity to bring together government, broadcasters, civil society and the public to chart a sustainable path forward, one that protects the sustainability of FTA television while addressing the realities of a rapidly converging media landscape.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Gudani Tshitkota
SOS Campaigns and Project Coordinator

campcoord@soscoalition.org.za