e.tv wants in on Icasa policy
2007-12-14 12:44
Johannesburg - Free-to-air television channel e.tv has called on the regulator to include it in any must-carry policy if it forces new pay television providers to air commercial station SABC3 on their platforms, according to Business Report on Friday.
The SABC is pushing for the must-carry regulation, which will force all pay television providers - e.sat, On Digital Media, Telkom Media, Walking on Water and MultiChoice - to carry its three current and future domestic channels for a fee payable to the public broadcaster. This would provide new revenue streams for the SABC.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is holding hearings on regulations regarding the extent to which subscription broadcast services must carry, subject to commercially negotiable terms, the television programmes of a public broadcasting licensee.
Bronwyn Keene-Young, e.tv's chief operating officer, said on Thursday that SABC3 was directly competing with e.tv for advertising, which was e.tv's only source of revenue.
Given its public service obligations, e.tv should be included in the channels that pay television operators must air, she said.
- SAPA