Encyclopedia:
South African Broadcasting Corporation,
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South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the state owned broadcaster in
South Africa and provides 18 radio stations (
AM/
FM) as well as 4 television broadcasts to the general public.
[cite web|url=http://www.sabc.co.za/portal/site/corporate/menuitem.f7f580ebd1506ee48891f2e75401aeb9|title=SABC Station ]Company history
Early years
The SABC was established in
1936 through an Act Of
Parliament, and replaced the previous state-controlled
African Broadcasting Corporation which was dissolved in the same year. It was considered a
monopoly for many years, and was controlled by the white minority
National Party government. This lead to the accusation of it being biased towards the then ruling apartheid regime. At one time most of its senior management were members of the
Broederbond, the
Afrikaner secret society and later drawn from institutions like
Stellenbosch University. It was also known in
Afrikaans as
Suid-Afrikaanse Uitsaaikorporasie (SAUK), although this title is no longer used by the Corporation, except in Afrikaans news broadcasts.
Until
1979, the SABC also operated broadcasting services in
Namibia, which was then under South African rule, but in that year, these were transferred to the South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC). This, in turn, became the
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) after the country's independence in
1990.
Recent history
In
1996, the SABC and its services were restructed to better serve and reflect the fresh democratic society of post-
1994 South Africa. It has since been accused of favouring the ruling ANC political party, mostly in the area of news broadcasting. However, it remains the dominant player in the country's broadcast media.
Criticism towards the public broadcaster intensified around
2003-
2005, when it was accused of a wide range of shortcomings including self-censorship, lack of objectivity and selective news coverage.
Radio
Establishment
The SABC was established by an act of Parliament in 1936 taking over from the African Broadcasting Company which had been responsible for some of the first
radio broadcasts in South Africa in the 1920s. The SABC established services in what were then the country's
official languages,
English and
Afrikaans, with broadcasts in ethnic languages such as
Zulu,
Xhosa,
Sesotho and
Tswana following later. The SABC's first commercial service, started in 1950, was known as Springbok Radio, broadcasting in English and Afrikaans. Regional FM music stations were started in the 1960s. The SABC's choice of popular music reflected the
National Party government's initial conservatism, with the music of
The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones generally frowned upon, if not banned from the airwaves, in favour of 'middle of the road' music like that of the
U.S. group
Bread.
In 1966 the SABC also established an external service, known as
Radio RSA, which broadcast in English, Swahili,
French,
Portuguese,
Dutch and
German. It is now known as
Channel Africa.
1996 Restructuring
In
1996 the SABC carried out a signficant restructuring of their services. The main English language radio service became
SAfm, with many black presenters - to the chagrin of many white listeners accustomed to 'proper' English. The new service, after some initial faltering, soon developed a respectable listenership and was regarded as a flagship for the new democracy. However, government interference in the state broadcaster in
2003 saw further changes to SAfm which reversed the growth and put it in rapid decline once more. Today it attracts only 0.6% of the total population to its broadcasts. The main Afrikaans radio service was renamed
Radio Sonder Grense (literally 'Radio without Frontiers') in 1995 and has enjoyed greater success with the transition.
Similarly, SABC Radio's competitors have achieved great levels of popular appeal.
Primedia-owned
Radio 702,
Cape Talk and
94.7 Highveld Stereo have grown steadily in audience and revenue through shrewd management since the freeing of the airwaves in South Africa. Other stations such as the black-owned and focused
YFM and
Kaya FM have also shone, attracting audiences drawn from the black majority.
Station list
*
SAfm in
English*
5FM in
English*
Radio Metro in
English*
Radio Sonder Grense in
Afrikaans*
Ukhozi FM in
Zulu*
Umhlobo Wenene FM in
Xhosa*
Thobela FM in
Pedi*
Lesedi FM in
Sotho*
Motsweding FM in
Tswana*
Phalaphala FM in
Venda*
Munghana Lonene FM in
Tsonga*
Ligwalagwala FM in
Swazi*
Ikwekwezi FM in
Ndebele*
Lotus FM in
English for the
Indian community
Television
Early history (1971 - 1995)
In
1971, after years of
controversy over the introduction of television, the SABC was finally allowed to introduce a colour TV service, which began experimental broadcasts in the main cities on
5 May1975, before the service went nationwide on
January 6,
1976. Initially, the TV service was funded entirely through a
licence fee, as in the
UK, but advertising began in
1978. The SABC (both Television and Radio) is still partly funded by the licence fee (currently
R225 per annum).
The service initially broadcast only in
English and
Afrikaans, with an emphasis on religious programming on Sundays.
A local soap opera, The Villagers, set on a gold mine, was well received while other local productions like
The Dingleys were panned as amateurish. Owing to South Africa's
apartheid policies, the British actors' union
Equity started a boycott of programme sales to South Africa, meaning that the majority of acquired programming in the early years of the corporation came from the
United States. However, the
Thames Television police drama series
The Sweeney was briefly shown on SABC TV,
dubbed in Afrikaans as
Blitspatrollie. Later on, when other programmes were dubbed, the original soundtrack was
simulcast on FM radio.
With a limited budget, early programming aimed at children tended to be quite innovative, and programmes such as the Afrikaans-language puppetshows
Haas Das se Nuus Kas and
Oscar in Asblikfontein are still fondly remembered by many.
In
1982, a second channel was introduced, broadcasting in African languages. The main channel, then called TV1, was divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. Subtitling on TV in South Africa used to be almost non-existent, although now many non-English language soap operas have started to display English subtitles. The second channel, known either as TV2, TV3 or TV4 depending on the time of day, was later rebranded as CCV (Contemporary Community Values). A third channel was introduced known as TSS, or Topsport Surplus, Topsport being the brand name for the SABC's sport coverage, but this was renamed NNTV (National Network TV).
SABC television become widely available in neighbouring
Botswana,
Lesotho and
Swaziland. The SABC also helped the South West African Broadcasting Corporation in
Namibia to establish a television service in
1981 with most programming being videotapes flown in from South Africa. This became part of the
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation in
1990Recent history (1996 - present)
In
1996, almost two years after the ANC came to power, the SABC reorganised its three TV channels, so as to be more representative of different language groups. These new channels were called
SABC 1,
SABC 2 and
SABC 3. This resulted in the downgrading of
Afrikaans, which now had its airtime reduced, a move that angered many whites. The SABC also later absorbed the
Bop TV station, of the former
Bophuthatswana bantustan.
Other news broadcasts
The SABC carried
CNN International news broadcasts from
1990, but discontinued them around the time of the
2003 Invasion of Iraq. It now carries
BBC World news programming in the early hours of the morning. South African viewers who want to view international news during the daytime have to subscribe to
DStv which broadcasts, amongst others, CNN International, BBC World, and
Sky News.
New services
In recent years, the SABC began broadcasting two TV channels to the rest of the continent, SABC Africa (a news service) and Africa 2 Africa (entertainment programming from South Africa and other African countries), in
1999. These were carried for free by DStv. In
2003, Africa 2 Africa was merged with SABC Africa. SABC Africa's news bulletins are also carried on the Original Black Entertainment (OBE) satellite television channel in the UK.
In South Africa itself, the SABC has announced the launch of two regional television channels, SABC4 and SABC5, with an emphasis on languages other than English. SABC4 will broadcast in
Tswana,
Sesotho,
Pedi,
Tsonga,
Venda, and
Afrikaans as well as English, to the northern provinces of the country. In the southern provinces, SABC5 will broadcast in
Xhosa,
Zulu,
Ndebele, and
Swazi, as well as Afrikaans and English.
Unlike other SABC TV services, SABC4 and SABC5 will not be available via satellite.
Competition
In
1986, the SABC's monopoly on TV was challenged by the launch of a subscription-based service known as
M-Net, backed by a consortium of newspaper publishers. However, it could not broadcast its own news and current affairs programmes, which were still the preserve of the SABC. The SABC's dominance was further eroded by the launch of the first 'free-to-air' private TV channel, called
e.tv.
Satellite television also expanded, as M-Net's parent company,
Multichoice, launched its digital satellite TV service (
DStv)in
1995. However, it should be noted that most of the SABC's TV channels are still provided as part of this service.
Station list
1976 to 1995
*
TV1*
TV2*
TV3*
TV4*
Topsport/
NNTV1996 Onward
*
SABC1 mixed South African languages
*
SABC2 mixed South African languages (including
Afrikaans)
*
SABC3 English*
SABC Africa*
SABC4 (Under Development)
*
SABC5 (Under Development)
Criticism
A throwback to the Apartheid days, many people believe the SABC to be the 'Mouthpiece of Government', as the previous ruling party often used the SABC as platform to broadcast propaganda to the nation. Despite a change in government, this public perception was reinforced when, in August
2005, the SABC came under heavy fire from non-affiliated media and the public for failing to broadcast a scene whereby Deputy President
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was booed offstage by members of the
ANC Youth League, who were showing support for the newly-axed ex-Deputy President,
Jacob Zuma[cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=248529&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/|title=MG Article on Youth League ] .
Rival broadcaster
eTV publicly accused SABC of 'biased reporting' by failing to show the video footage of the humiliated Deputy President, but
Snuki Zikalala, Head of News and ex-ANC spokesperson retorted by stating that their cameraman was not present at the meeting, a fact later falsified by released eTV footage showing the SABC cameraman filming the incident.
[cite web|url=http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1042&fArticleId=2872217|title=Sunday Independent on Duputy-President ]SABC's government connections also came under scrutiny when, in April 2005, Zimbabwean president
Robert Mugabe was interviewed live by Zikalala, who is a former ANC
political commissar.
[cite web|url=http://www.suntimes.co.za/2004/07/25/insight/in02.asp|title=Sunday Times on Robert Mugabe ] The interview held was deemed by the public eye to have side-stepped 'critical issues' and controversial questions regarding Mugabe's radical land-reform policies and
human rights violations.
In May
2006, the SABC was accused of
self censorship, when it decided not to air a documentary on South African President
Thabo Mbeki, and in early June requested that the producers (from Daylight films) not speak about it. This has been widely criticised by independent media groups.
[cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=6&art_id=vn20060610091410712C874542|title=IOL News ] In response,
The International Freedom of Expression eXchange issued an alert concerning the SABC's apparent trend toward self-censorship.
[cite web|url=http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74682/|title=IFEX Self-Censhorship ]In June
2006 the
International Federation of Journalists denounced the cancelling of the Thabo Mbeki documentary, citing "self censorship" and "politically influenced managers".
[cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060619012849541C504021|title=IFOJ comment on Mbeki ]Also in June 2006,
SAfm host
John Perlman disclosed on air that the SABC had created a
blacklist of commentators.
[cite web|url=http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A220788|title=John Perlman disclosed ] A commission of inquiry was created by SABC CEO
Dali Mpofu into the allegations that individuals were blacklisted at the behest of Zikalala.
[cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3015&art_id=vn20060624083017227C257392|title=IOL on blacklisting ][cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=275243&area=/insight/insight__national/|title=MG on blacklisting ]See also
*
Television in South Africa*
List of South African television seriesExternal links
*
http://www.sabc.co.za Official Site*
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=qw1125657361836B253 IOL - SABC battles the image of being a State Mouthpiece*
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2855938&fSectionId=234&fSetId=505 The Star - Air the Laundry*
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=6&art_id=vn20060610091410712C874542 IOL - SABC gags Mbeki 'unauthorised' documentary*
http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/286709/SABCBLACKLISTREPORT.pdf Report of SABC Commission on BlacklistingReferences
Category:Broadcasting by countryCategory:CensorshipCategory:Publicly funded broadcastersCategory:South African mediaCategory:Apartheid in South Africaaf:Suid-Afrikaanse Uitsaaikorporasienl:South African Broadcasting Corporation