Television
Television is the most tightly regulated media sector in South Africa and is (along with radio) regulated by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Broadcast rights, especially for television, are issued by invitation only and only two independent television broadcasters have been permitted to operate up to now. Broadcast licenses mandate percentages of local, community and educational content and broadcasters are required to include such content as a condition of their license.
As a result, there are only four free-to-air terrestrial television channels in South Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation's SABC 1, SABC 2 and SABC 3 as well as e.tv. The South African Broadcasting Corporation or SABC is South Africa's state-owned public broadcaster. All broadcasters are subject to the Broadcast Complaints Commission.
Multichoice is the oldest provider of pay TV and satellite broadcasting in the country, with one terrestrial pay TV channel, M-Net, and DStv, a digital satellite television network with over 55 local and international channels that broadcasts to over 2 million subscribers throughout Africa. In November 2008 four new licenses were granted, from a total of 18 applications, for the operation of pay-TV services. Walking on Water (a Christian broadcaster), On Digital Media and e-Sat (the satellite arm of e.tv) were all expected to start direct-to-home satellite broadcasts in mid-2008. This did not happen as only On succeeded in launching its Top TV service. Even Telkom Media which was supposed to operate satellite services as well as IPTV services such as video-on-demand, never took off and was subsequently sold to Shenzhen Media South Africa. On Digital Media is 68% black owned.
Read more about this topic: Media Of South Africa
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“... there is no reason to confuse television news with journalism.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)
“The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.”
—Frederic Raphael (b. 1931)
“His [O.J. Simpson’s] supporters lined the freeway to cheer him on Friday and commentators talked about his tragedy. Did those people see the photographs of the crime scene and the great blackening pools of blood seeping into the sidewalk? Did battered women watch all this on television and realize more vividly than ever before that their lives were cheap and their pain inconsequential?”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)