Pretoria – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/the Authority) invites interested parties to make written representations on the draft Sports Broadcasting Services Amendment Regulations. This is the second round of public consultations following the public hearings held from 27 to 31 May 2019.

The process is meant to review and amend the Sport Broadcasting Services Regulations, 2010 to be in line with current trends and developments within the broadcasting environment. The Authority has since observed a trend where national sporting events are mostly broadcast live on the subscription television broadcasting services platforms, resulting in the majority of South Africans being unable to have access to such live sporting events due to them being unable to afford such services.

It is worth noting that South Africa is characterized by inequalities which play a role in how the public have access to television and the services available to them. Research has shown that despite the overall 82% television penetration in South Africa, only 12.6% use subscription-based television services. This therefore means that programmes broadcast on free-to-air platforms are available to a much wider audience than programmes broadcast on other platforms including subscription broadcast services.

“It is in this light that the Authority has, in the amended draft regulations, sought to give effect to certain provisions of the Electronic Communications Act while considering the competing concerns of financial sustainability of broadcasters; and to ensure increased access to national sporting events to most of the South African population”, says ICASA Councillor, Ms Palesa Kadi.

It is ICASA’s mandate to regulate in the public interest and as such, the draft amendment regulations seek to reiterate and ensure that South Africans have access to a wide range of national sporting events.

“It is important to note that the review of existing regulations is common within the regulatory environment, and this process is no exception. It is therefore not a new regulatory intervention. As developments happen and new information come to the fore, ICASA needs to relook into the relevance of its existing regulations, and where necessary, initiate a process for the review of such regulations”, concludes Kadi.

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Paseka Maleka

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pmaleka@icasa.org.za