Tag Archives: South African Broadcasting Corporation

South Africa continues migration to digital

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South Africa’s minister of communications and digital technologies Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has switched off the country’s last analogue transmitter, as part of plans to fully migrate to digital broadcasting by the end of March this year.

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni

Ntshavheni switched off the transmitter in Limpopo state earlier this week. According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), four of the country’s nine provinces – the Free State, Northern Cape, North-West and Mpumalanga – have already switched to digital.

Ntshavheni said: “All South Africans deserve a pleasant TV watching experience with a clear picture quality, more free-to-air channels and SABC radio stations of their choice, irrespective of where they are in the country. This is the last site that we are switching off in Limpopo in terms of analogue transmission.”

Explaining the rationale behind the analogue switch-off, Ntshavheni said: “We’re going to release the spectrum. We are giving these telecommunications mobile operators obligations to connect all the 18,000 schools to have access to the internet so that our children are not affected by not having access to the internet, not being able to learn, because now education is going digital. But we have also said we must connect all the clinics and all the hospitals.”

Limpopo economic development executive member Thabo Mokone added that the internet connectivity that will come with the digital migration will help in growing the provincial economy.

“When we have connectivity, when we have internet. It means that we’re on the road to creating more employment because people will have access to information, snd this assists them to be do a lot of things. As we gather here, we are told that 70 SMEs benefited from this process, and each one of them was able to connect almost 200 people. It means, therefore, that it’s the beginning of things to come.”

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APO, SABC strike deal to air sports in SA

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Pan-African communications consultancy APO Group has entered a multi-year partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to offer Pan-African sporting content to South African audiences.

Gary Rathbone

Through the deal, all video footage and soundbites produced or distributed by APO relating to sport in Africa will be made available to SABC free of charge and for unrestricted news use. APO will also provide SABC with access to key stakeholders from sporting organisations in Africa and their associated world governing bodies for interviews and other media opportunities.

Gary Rathbone, head of sports for SABC said: “Every day, APO Group carries stories that demonstrate the passion and vibrancy of African sport. This partnership will provide us with new broadcast-quality content that brings more diversity to our coverage than ever before. It is a chance to show our audiences what is happening beyond our borders, and that is really exciting.”

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, APO Group founder and chairman, added: “South African audiences are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about sport. They have seen their team reach the pinnacle of world rugby, and achieve many other successes at a national level. Now, SABC and APO Group in tandem can bring them the best sporting action the other 53 African countries have to offer.”

APO Group produces and distributes content for some of the most prominent sporting organisations active in Africa, including FIFA, the NBA, the Basketball Africa League, World Rugby’s African association, Rugby Africa, Olympique de Marseille, and Africa’s first ever Union Cycliste Internationale World Tour team, Team Qhubeka.

SABC is South Africa’s national broadcaster. It broadcasts across 19 radio stations and six television channels, and is one of South Africa’s largest state-owned enterprises.

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Disney, SABC ink content distribution deal

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The Walt Disney Company Africa and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have signed a distribution deal allowing the latter to broadcast ESPN content to viewers across South Africa.

Gary Rathbone

Through the SABC Sports channel, viewers will have access to a wide range of Disney-owned ESPN’s local and international live sporting events, news programming and sports films.

They will also be able to watch football matches from the English Championship, the Dutch Eredivisie and the U20 Championships from Nairobi, plus highlights from the US Major League Soccer, premiere football news round-ups from ESPN’s magazine shows, and the popular ESPN FC.

In addition, viewers can see live broadcasts of 2022 events including the World Race Walking Championships from Belarus, the second season of the Basketball Africa League and live boxing events.

SABC sport general manager Gary Rathbone said: “This agreement is going to add significant depth to our current offering on the SABC Sports channel. Our channel will now offer unrivalled content to our local sport fans seven days a week, thanks to ESPN’s great boxing archive and film and documentary library. With the addition of long-awaited regular live boxing events, as well more live football, athletics and African basketball, it’s clear this partnership will deliver right across the board for our viewers.

“This partnership will not only give our viewers access to great sports content but will see the SABC sport channel and our teams benefiting from the resources and experience that this collaboration with ESPN offers.”

Kyle De Klerk, director of sports at The Walt Disney Company Africa, added: “With this content agreement, we are excited to not only be bringing ESPN’s unprecedented and compelling sporting offering to new audiences, but to also be taking a great step in highlighting and celebrating some of the up and coming leagues and athletes from around this continent.”

Christine Service, senior VP and general manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa, said: “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with SABC to include ESPN, bringing another diversified and exciting brand from Disney’s portfolio to local free-to-air audiences.”

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SABC celebrates 85 years of broadcasting

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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is celebrating its 85th anniversary.

SABC board chair Bongumusa Makhathini said the corporation is not just a public broadcaster but also a fully fledged media organisation that reaches audiences beyond the traditional limits of broadcasting by using online, streaming, mobile and other platforms.

In a speech during the SABC’s 85th anniversary celebration, which was held at Oakland Park in Johannesburg, Makhathini said: “Today, we mark the 85th birthday of an institution that stands tall as a pillar of our constitutional democracy; as a vital public media organisation that weaves our nation together, reaching over 30 million people on radio and more than 20 million people on TV every week.”

As part of the celebration, two new premier radio sport shows were unveiled: Sports Night Live with Andile and The Ultimate Sport Show with Thomas Mlambo.

Sports Night Live airs on Radio 2000 and is anchored by Andile Ncube, who intends to “keep listeners on the pulse of sporting events, globally and locally,” while The Ultimate Sport Show is anchored by Mlambo and broadcasts on Metro FM.

Madoda Mxakwe, SABC’s group CEO, said: “As the corporation celebrates its 85th birthday – a key milestone for an organisation that dutifully serves citizen by providing content that is educational, informative and entertaining in all our official languages – over the coming months, the SABC will embark on campaigns and projects that will further improve the lives of citizens as it fulfils its mandate.”

“As we forge ahead, we will ensure that the SABC continues playing its critical role of promoting nation-building and social cohesion by acquiring and scheduling content that reflects South African stories on our radio, television and digital platforms. Let us join together South Africa, as we celebrate a lifetime of memories and we as the management and staff of the public broadcaster, wish it another long 85 years of broadcasting.”

SABC was established on August 1, 1936 and has since informed, educated and entertained viewers, providing news from around South Africa and the world.

It operates 19 radio stations and six TV channels, namely SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, SABC News, SABC Sport and SABC Education. The broadcaster plans to launch a video-on-demand service this year.

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SABC launches sports channel

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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has launched SABC Sports Channel to provide “compelling and exciting” local and international sporting content.

Gary Rathbone

SABC Sport Channel is available on eMedia’s free-to-air satellite platform OpenView 124, TelkomONE’s mobile platform and the SABC’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) service.

The move comes after the network’s soft launch via the same platforms in April. The channel also has a YouTube presence.

Gary Rathbone, general manager of SABC Sport, said the South African public broadcaster had always been the ultimate sporting home for the country’s sports fans.

“Through the events we showcase on the SABC platforms, we want to inspire up-and-coming athletes in the various sporting disciplines to reach for their dreams,” Rathbone said.

“Our newly launched sports channel on the DTT, OpenView and TelkomOne platforms, must also be commended. Since the channel became operational in April this year, its audience figures have been positive, with the latest TAMS figure showing a total reach of over two million, a 5% share of the national television market.

“On OpenView alone, the channel has established itself amongst the top 10 on the bouquet, with a total reach of over 1.4 million, representing a 24% share of the OpenView market. This is really positive start for an exciting new Sport Channel that South Africans will be able to access without needing to pay a subscription.”

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SuperSport, SABC sign PSL deal

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MultiChoice’s SuperSport and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have signed a five-year deal giving the latter free-to-air rights to South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Calvo Mawela

Discussing the deal, sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa said: “Our duty is to deliver on our promises and resolve issues raised by our people.

“Thus, I am happy to announce that all parties have concluded an agreement on commercial terms with the SABC allowing them to broadcast Premier Soccer League matches on television for our people.

“I would like to thank all the participants – MultiChoice‚ the PSL and the SABC – for their positive approach which ensures that ordinary South Africans are able to access football in our country. We recognise the importance of sport, and in this instance football, in promoting national cohesion and commend all stakeholders involved.”

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza expressed his satisfaction over the willingness of the sports ministers and SABC to facilitate a commercial agreement that ensures the sustainability of the PSL as one of the top 10 football leagues in the world.

MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela added: “We remain committed to the long-term investment in sports in South Africa and the rest of Africa. In the previous financial year, MCG invested over R2.3bn in sports on the continent.

“An important element of the investment is in sports broadcasting and sponsorship rights, which provide critical revenue streams for sports bodies that filter down to every tier and have an undeniable impact on the development of sport.”

SABC Group CEO Madoda Mxakwe said: “In line with our public mandate, we are pleased to have reached an agreement in the interest of the South African public. Most importantly, this commercially viable deal is aligned to the goal of having a financially sustainable public broadcaster.

“The SABC will continue to discharge its public mandate in a manner which is not only sustainable for the organisation, but ensures that the South African public have access to sports of national interest such as the PSL.”

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