History
Cape Town TV (known by the acronym CTV) was founded by community media activists in 2004, following the release of regulations governing the community television sector in South Africa by the broadcasting regulator, ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa). These activists formed the Cape Town Community Television Collective (CTCTC), which consisted of a grouping of organisations working in the field of community media.
The Collective engaged in a process of ongoing discussions aimed at creating a community television channel for Cape Town, based on principles of social development, democracy, justice and human rights. Consultations were held with other civil society organisations and the wider public, which resulted in the organisation being formally launched at its first annual general meeting (AGM) in September 2006. This was attended by over 100 representatives from civil society organisations in Cape Town.
The organisation first approached the national public service broadcaster, the SABC, for a programming 'window' which would be viewed only in the Western Cape region. This approach was rejected by the SABC and the organisation then decided to stage its own broadcast. Up to this time, the only community TV broadcasts which had been allowed in South Africa were temporary broadcasts of up to four weeks in duration, which were linked to "special event" licenses.
ICASA began issuing longer "temporary" licenses of up to one year in 2007, when it licensed Soweto TV in Johannesburg for a 12-month period in July of that year. Consequently, the CTCTC decided to also pursue a one-year license because this would provide a firmer foundation for a permanent community television channel. Application for such a license was made and this was granted by ICASA in July 2008, although the channel was only able to launch on 1 September 2008.
The channel began broadcasting with one hour of programming, which was repeated throughout the day for a two-week period. Thereafter programme hours were steadily increased until the channel was broadcasting 24 hours per day, although many programmes are repeated due to a shortage of available content. The channel does not have a budget for content acquisition, so all programmes are acquired free of charge from invididuals, production houses, organisations and government agencies.
Read more about this topic: Cape Town TV
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