The SABC will be launching four new language specific channels when the long overdue DTT migration (eventually!) happens.
This according to SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was interviewed by Leanne Manas on SABC2's breakfast show Morning Live this morning. He was joined by the SABC's Chief Financial Officer James Aguma and together they explained the plan going forward.
The four new channels will cover the following languages: Sesotho (Setswana, Sepedi, Sesotho), Afrikaans,
Nguni and Venda/Tsonga.
The channel names haven't been confirmed yet but they won't be SABC 4,5,6 and 7. According to Hlaudi, the SABC will be engaging the creators of the content and the public to come up with suitable names for them.
Where will the content come from?
From South African production companies, the SABC and emerging, independent producers who want to get involved. The SABC will be running a call for submissions of ideas and applications for tenders across radio and TV for those who want to submit proposals.
This strategy is different from the current set-up of content gathering for SABC1, 2 and 3. The SABC currently releases briefs in an RFP book which tells producers what they're looking for.
According to Hlaudi, the reason for ditching the book is that: "we dictate to people what kind of content they should pitch which kills the creativity within those individuals so we are saying, 'allow people to come up with their own creativity and their own ideas.'"
Hlaudi also suggested that the content would be introduced before DTT by ditching international content on SABC1, 2 and 3 but he didn't clarify nor elaborate on how this would work nor when it would happen.
Who's going to pay?
Investors who are currently being sourced. This from Hlaudi: "We are working very hard to raise funding for these channels. We are busy engaging investors, it's just that now we can't reveal the information because it is a strategy of the SABC, we can't reveal it publicly but we are working on the funding - some people have already contributed to these channels behind-the-scenes." (
Not the Guptas hopefully.)
The news of the new channels comes with another notable change to the pubcaster in terms of marketing. The SABC has always outsourced the marketing of channels and radio stations to external agencies and will be doing it in-house instead.
According to James Aguma, the SABC's annual marketing budget has been R180 000 000. The plan is to reduce this by using SABC staff instead.
When will we see the channels?
By next year which is when DTT is
supposed to roll out. Will it? Meet us here in 2017 (same time, same place) and let's see.