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SABC opposes proposal to drop prime time news

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  Phumzile van Damme, DA-spokesperson on communications, during a protest at Parliament over censorship at the SABC in July.  Picture: Jan Gerber
Phumzile van Damme, DA-spokesperson on communications, during a protest at Parliament over censorship at the SABC in July. Picture: Jan Gerber

The SABC has opposed e.tv’s application to broadcast its news bulletins at off-peak times.

This is contrary to a report that the public broadcaster would try follow in e.tv’s footsteps, should the private free-to-air channel be successful in its bid to amend its licence conditions so that it didn’t have to broadcast news bulletins during prime time.

Rubben Mohlaloga, acting board chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), clarified the SABC’s position at a meeting of Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications.

In reply to a query by DA member of Parliament Phumzile van Damme about the controversial plan, he said Icasa was still considering the application by e.tv.

On Monday, the Democratic Alliance expressed concern that the SABC was also planning to apply not have to broadcast news during prime time. If it did, a huge part of the South African public, who were dependent on free television services, would be kept in the dark.

“Icasa has always maintained that peak time was the right time for the broadcaster to broadcast local content because most South Africans would be watching television then,” Van Damme said in a statement.

“Icasa must stick to this, and not allow e.tv and the SABC to dumb down the South African public by broadcasting news bulletins during a time when fewer people are watching television.”

The committee didn’t discuss the matter in depth on Tuesday, because it had spent a lot of time discussing Icasa’s decision that the SABC must broadcast violent protests.

In May, the SABC announced that it would not broadcast footage of “destruction of property” during news bulletins.

Icasa said at the meeting that the SABC had not provided any proof yet that it had taken a board decision to revoke its decision not to broadcast violent protests.

A parliamentary inquiry into the fitness of the SABC board to hold office is under way.

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