SABC TV License
Subscription Platforms may not “React Kindly” to SABC’s Proposed TV Licence Fees, says Attorney
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has plans to push new regulations that would call for South Africans to pay TV Licence fees for using private subscription services, like Netflix and DStv. And that these platforms would have to collect the TV licences on behalf of the public broadcaster. According to Ian Jacobsberg, Director for Corporate, Mergers, and Acquisitions at Tabacks Attorneys, this is a desperate attempt to address the SABC’s dire financial plight without addressing the reasons that created it in the first place. “The low levels of collections the SABC has achieved to date may largely be attributed to public resistance to funding what is seen to be endemic wastage and corruption, and there is understandably considerable resistance to widening the revenue base if ...
South Africans could soon need a TV License for their Smartphones and Laptops
The SABC has revealed its plans to push new regulations that would call for South Africans to pay TV Licence fees. Sylvia Tladi, SABC Head of TV Licences, said that “one of the key things that we [need] to deal with was the definition of the television set because once you have defined what a television set is, you move on to identifying whether a licence is required or not.” Tladi goes on to say that people are not just viewing content or broadcasting services on a traditional TV anymore – and that’s why the regulations need to change. “What we are asking for is for the definition to be amended so that it can also include other devices that are not traditionally built to look like television sets but are used to receive broadcasting services for content, whatever platforms people use...
