How out of tune is the SABC for wanting us to pay it to watch Netflix?

Government’s proposal that SA’s TV licence fee be amended to include laptops, cellphones and tablets has been met with mixed reaction from experts who say it could run foul of the country’s existing communications laws.

On Wednesday, communications deputy minister Pinky Kekana told parliament’s portfolio committee on communications that the definition of TV licences was outdated as it stood and should be amended to include other electronic devices that people used to stream video on demand.

“The [definition of] TV licence is outdated and needs to be adjusted to current realities,” she said.

Kekana said regulation was needed on entertainment providers such as MultiChoice and Netflix to collect TV licences on behalf of the SABC in the same way municipalities collect traffic fines and motor vehicle disc fines from motorists.

The broadcasting act in its current form did not make provision for such a move, said Nozipho Mngomezulu, a partner at law firm Webber Wentzel and specialist in communications legal matters.

“The act does not accommodate where we are from a technological point of view,” she noted, adding the current regulatory framework did not allow for such changes.

The act does not accommodate where we are from a technological point of view.

—  Nozipho Mngomezulu, partner at Webber Wentzel

Any alterations, such as those proposal by Kekana, would require tabling of a new bill followed by a process in which the public would be asked for comment.

“Everything needs to be based in law and be rational,” said Mngomezulu. “The test of rationality is key and I’m not sure [this proposal] would pass that test.”

William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, said the public backlash was largely a misunderstanding of Kekana’s comments.

Proposals for MultiChoice and Netflix to collect licence fees on behalf of the SABC are already contained a draft white paper.

“The white paper is just a thought process,” said Bird. “It’s by no means final and people are getting a bit upset, thinking this is happening tomorrow.”

The issue highlighted the fact that the SABC urgently needed a new funding model, said Bird.

It was also a reminder that people consume their content on many different platforms.

“The SABC’s YouTube videos are getting around a million views per month, so they are getting good traction on that. We also know that people consume their videos on a whole range of platforms so it makes sense that if you got people that have a Netflix subscription to say, well, maybe they should also collect licences on behalf of the SABC.

“There are other issues there that we we need to look at that would not just support the SABC but our industry as a whole. Netflix should be making a contribution, either through local production or making a financial contribution to a public service local content fund.

“The SABC could then also apply to get money from that fund to help cross-subsidise,” he said.

About 10% of SABC’s revenue comes from licence fees.

“It’s an unfair tax,” said Bird. “For us who are employed, R300 a year is not a lot of money. But for people living on basic income or child support grants, that’s a lot of money.”

Along comes Netflix and they don’t have to comply with anything.

—  William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa

Bird pointed out that all media organisations had to comply with regulations.

“Along comes Netflix and they don’t have to comply with anything.”

The government has proposed plans that would see people who don’t have television sets but enjoy services via mobile devices paying for TV licences.

While South Africans often regarded the SABC as another dysfunctional state-owned enterprise hollowed out by state capture, Bird noted the new board had been working hard to put things right.

“The last few times ministers have tried to tell the board what to do, they’ve turned round and said ‘no, we’re an independent institution’. This is the way we want a public institution to be run, with an independent board that will stand up to overt political interference.”

It is clear that not everything is rosy in the SABC’s newsrooms, with radio bulletins editor Zolisa Sigabi telling the communications portfolio committee that the staff have to fight against commercialisation in an attempt to protect the SABCs public-service mandate.

 “[We come here] as a broken, depleted and a demoralised newsroom, where fear and anxiety roam the corridors of our buildings. We cannot speak out and tell of the challenges we are facing as staff of the SABC as a gag order was imposed on the staff as soon as the section 189 [retrenchment] process took off,” said Sigabi.