Senior ANC MP Khusela Sangoni Diko has called for the urgent publication of a white paper on audio and audiovisual media services to mitigate the negative impact of streaming services on South African broadcasters, including the SABC.
Diko, who chairs parliament’s portfolio committee on communications & digital technologies, made the remarks in a statement following the publication on Monday of the Competition Commission’s provisional report on media and digital platforms. Publication of the report followed a 16-month inquiry into the relationship between local news media and multinational digital platform companies such as Google and Meta.
In the report, the commission estimated that Google made between R1.1-billion and R1.5-billion in revenue through displaying content created by local news media in 2023. Google has disputed the numbers.
However, the commission said, the revenue split between local media and Google is skewed in favour of the search giant. The commission proposed in its report, which is provisional, that Google pay between R300-million and R500-million/year over three to five years to local media and implement other initiatives to “rectify the imbalance in shared value”.
In her statement, Diko likened the detrimental effect the commission alleged multinational platforms have had on the local news industry to the effect that streamers like Netflix have had on the SABC. She said the recommendations made by the commission regarding Google should serve as a deterrent to other multinationals by showing that a lack of direct regulation “is not a licence for unscrupulous business practices”.
Urgency
“For a very long time, over-the-top (OTT) digital platforms exploited the regulatory gap in the sector to the detriment of the public broadcaster, the SABC, which operates under stringent regulations. We further welcome the recommendation that media houses be remunerated for the content they produce that gets to be exploited by OTT and digital platforms,” said Diko.
Diko said there is a need for urgency in taking forward the long-delayed audio and audiovisual services white paper. Now apparently called the white paper on audio and audiovisual media services and online content safety – according to Diko’s statement – the policy paper, which is a prelude to the development of a bill, is meant to update South Africa’s broadcasting legislation to account for changes brought about by advancements in digital technologies, including the proliferation of streaming services.
Read: You may soon need a TV licence to watch Netflix
According to a draft white paper published in August 2023, revenue thresholds will be used to determine the type of license international companies that are actively targeting South African audiences and “extracting revenue” will need to apply for – each license type bestows a different set of obligations on licensees.
An interdepartmental task team will be set up to report to the minister on mechanisms to ensure compliance by international firms that meet the licensing criteria but do not have a physical business premises in South Africa and potentially refuse to apply for a licence, said the document.
Central to these developments is the crisis faced by the SABC, with its funding model at the centre of a fractious battle between the ANC and its government of national unity partner, the Democratic Alliance. Communications minister and DA MP Solly Malatsi withdrew the bill from parliament last November, arguing that the draft legislation in its current form failed to address issues with the public broadcaster’s funding model.
The move made Malatsi the subject of much vitriol from a number of ANC MPs, including his own deputy, Mondli Gungubele, minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Diko. Diko responded by labelling Malatsi’s move as “catastrophic” for the SABC, accusing the minister of “sounding the death knell” for the public broadcaster.
Diko’s suggestion that streaming services should compensate the SABC for the value they allegedly extract from the local broadcasting industry is one of many ideas that have been proposed in efforts to rescue the embattled broadcaster.
Read: South Africa still keen to amend broadcast ownership rules
In a presentation to parliament’s portfolio committee last November, SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli tabled a proposal for a “device-independent levy” that would require enlisting the South African Revenue Service and MultiChoice Group for collection. Also proposed was preventing consumers that don’t hold a valid TV licence from subscribing to streaming services like Netflix or even DStv. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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