Abstract
The ethos of public service is rooted in the basis that all citizens command a place in the public service space, and this includes the flow of communication from public institutions. In this regard, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), as the only public service broadcaster in the country, has an enormous task to deliver the important social service of providing informative, educational, and entertaining information to the South African citizenry. From its inception, the SABC utilised radio, and later television, as the main platforms of broadcasting, which were governed by broadcasting policies preceding the usage of digital and online media platforms.
With the advent of digital and online media platforms, there is a need for a new policy paradigm and new commitments from broadcasters as well as policy makers to ensure that digital and online media platforms do not repeal the public service mandate which is bestowed upon public service content providers. It is against this background that this study was necessitated. This study aimed to investigate the mandate of South Africa’s only public service broadcaster, the SABC, in a multi-platform and multi-device environment. Fundamentally, this study looks at whether the SABC is fit for purpose in the multimedia environment, considering its governing legislation.
This dissertation presents a qualitative analysis of the relevant policy and legislative framework documents informing the SABC’s mandate, as well as an analysis of semi-structured interviews with some of South Africa’s broadcasting industry experts. Through the analysis of relevant documents informing the SABC’s mandate and the semi-structured interviews, the main findings of this study revealed that the SABC’s mandate of providing universal access to informative, educational, and entertaining public service content is still relevant and is an ongoing priority for all role players within the public service broadcasting fraternity, irrespective of the broadcasting platforms utilised.
The findings also demonstrated that the overarching current policy governing the SABC’s operations, the Broadcasting Act, 1999, is inadequate to address the new media platforms, which are now being utilised to deliver public service content to the citizens. The findings also revealed that it is imperative that the SABC is supported through a solid legislative and regulatory framework fit for its viability and sustainability in an ever-changing broadcasting environment. It is further revealed that the SABC should intensify its effort of expanding its services on the OTT platforms by establishing its own OTT platforms, and capitalise on its unique selling point of offering content on these platforms in African languages.
Lastly, the study exposed key factors which point to a deficiency in appropriate policies which align to the current broadcasting environment confronted with a plethora of multi-platforms and multi-devices by which media consumers access public service content. Some of these factors include the constant reconfiguration of government departments, which has resulted in the high turnover of Ministers in the ministry responsible for the SABC. This lack of continuity from one Minister to the other has led to a delay in the process of finalising and putting in place the appropriate public service broadcasting policies required, which explicitly accommodate the new media platforms.