Challenges
CTV, like other community television stations in South Africa, faces a number of challenges. These include funding, availability of broadcast frequencies and the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.
In October 2009 CTV was taken off air for ten days by the national signal provider, Sentech, due to cash flow difficulties that prevented it from maintaining payments for signal distribution. Consequently the channel has embarked on a programme of action aimed at either reducing the fees charged by Sentech to community broadcasters, or incepting a government subsidy for these costs.
This programme of action resulted in a public march on Parliament in November 2009, where the station presented a list of demands to the South African government. These demands included the following:
1. That CTV is not switched off when ICASA licenses a new cell phone TV operator next year but that a frequency is allocated to carry the channel.
2. The creation of an interim support fund for existing community TV stations, in addition to the speedy implementation of the Public Broadcasting Fund.
3. That Sentech provides CTV with a good quality signal and transmission for free or at a significantly reduced rate.
4. That community TV is protected during and after the migration to digital terrestrial television.
The process of migration from analogue to digital television broadcasting that is happening in South Africa poses a significant threat to the channel. The frequency that CTV has been allocated for broadcasting by ICASA has been earmarked for mobile broadcasting, i.e. digital broadcasting to cell phones. This means that when a mobile broadcaster is licensed (which is likely to happen in mid-2010), CTV will no longer have a frequency on which to broadcast.
Consequently the channel is challenging ICASA to provide an alternative frequency; the alternative would be for the channel to migrate to a digital broadcasting multiplex, but since very few people in South Africa will have the necessary equipment to receive such a signal prior to the switch-off of all analogue television broadcasting (planned for 2012), it means that the station would lose its audience and hence would be unsustainable. ICASA has stated that it will address this issue when it finalises digital broadcasting regulations.
Read more about this topic: Cape Town TV
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