The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa) move to exempt television broadcasters from local content quotas during the State of Disaster could decimate the sector, which is already struggling during the lockdown, and contradicts the government’s plea to support local productions.

This is the view of the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO), which represents SA film and TV producers, in response to the announcement Icasa made last week.

Under the exemption, South Africa’s television broadcasters won’t be penalised for failing to meet local content requirements. The exemption will continue until three months after the end of the State of Disaster is declared. The exemptions don’t apply to local music quotas on the radio.

“It is unthinkable that broadcasters could so heartlessly put the incomes – the lives and careers – of so many thousands of people under such threat,” said IPO’s Trish Downing.

“And to do that without even talking to us to see if we could find some common ground on a way forward, to find workable ways in which the sector could survive and the broadcasters continue to honour their regulatory and public obligations, simply beggars belief.”

In a joint statement, Save Our SABC (SOS) and Media Monitoring Africa said, “Now more than ever, local content has become critically important.”

“These exemptions may be counterproductive and serve to limit the positive and impactful role that the local production sector has proven itself to be capable of playing, as it has done in past public health crises such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”

Icasa granted the exemption to broadcasters, which will include eTV and M-Net, following an application by the SABC calling for greater flexibility during the lockdown.

The regulator considered three issues: broadcasters are now required to air educational content on Covid-19; production houses had stopped operating during Level 5 of the lockdown, leading to a shortage in available local content; and, production houses may need time to meet new safety regulations.

“It is for this reason that the authority took a view that the exemption would give broadcasters the flexibility required to attend to Covid-19 programming requirements as well as time to acquire local content when the lockdown restrictions are lifted,” said Icasa in a statement announcing its decision.

The SABC said the exemption would reduce the risk of failing to comply with quotas during the lockdown and provide “flexibility to conduct its business accordingly”.

Icasa said the exemption does not allow broadcasters to only air foreign content. The SABC said it remains committed to its mandate and to support local industries:

“… the SABC will do everything within the regulations to grow its business while assisting local production houses it works with”.

Critics, however, say the SABC’s application and Icasa’s decision were both made without consulting stakeholders in the sector. They questioned the justification for the exemption and said it would further cripple the industry after local content requirements had already been reduced to four hours a day under lockdown regulations.

“Putting a halt on the production of new local content for broadcasting, which represents the bulk of the sector’s work, could be the death knell for the already embattled sector. Critically, in line with its counterparts around the world, it had been counting on local content as the cornerstone of its survival,” said IPO.

While some shows have gone off air, such as SABC’s popular Uzalo, after they ran out of episodes, many production houses have begun shooting again during Level 4 of the lockdown.

IPO said educational content should be produced locally and, while production houses resume operations they, like all businesses, can and must adhere to health and safety guidelines.

“Shutting down local content to the extent permitted by the new regulations will deprive tens of thousands of actors and crew of desperately-needed work, freelancers who do not qualify for any of the relief offered by government of the public/private partnership Covid-19 funds,” said IPO in a statement.

“It will also severely impact all the people and small businesses that are suppliers to the sector, such as caterers, artists, crew and casting agencies, equipment-hire and logistics companies.”

SOS and Media Monitoring Africa said the exemptions effectively allow “the SABC and all other television broadcasters to broadcast only foreign content during the National State of Disaster and for three months thereafter”.

They continued, “There are many reasons why these provisions are problematic, starting with the fact that there is no certainty around how long the National State of Disaster will last because we have no way of saying how long Covid-19 will remain a threat to us.”

The SABC this weekend denied a Sunday Times report that claimed the public broadcaster has already lost R282-million as advertising revenue has dropped during the pandemic while broadcasts of popular programmes are interrupted by educational content and press conferences.

The public broadcaster said advertising revenue had been slashed across the sector due to the outbreak of Covid-19 but it had “restored a healthy working capital cycle” since receiving a R2.1-billion bailout from Treasury in October 2019.

IPO believes financial concerns may have played a role in the SABC’s push for local content exemptions. IPO said lockdown regulations state that broadcasters should contribute to the costs for implementing safety measures as productions resume filming.

“The SABC, however, has advised producers that they must carry these extraordinary and unbudgeted costs themselves should they wish to resume work. This puts producers in a bind: subsidise the SABC, once again, or put people out of work,” said IPO.

Government has established an R150-million relief fund for professionals in the sports, arts and culture sectors, capped at R20,000 per individual, during the Covid-19 lockdown but there are many reports of artists in the creative sector who are still struggling.

“We are pleading for local content to dominate on radio and television. We will be engaging the SABC because it doesn’t help to have Needletime Rights royalties to be benefiting overseas artists but not locals,” said Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa last week. DM