[Submitted via press release]
Yesterday The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC), Board and Management, presented to the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications, its three year 2012-15 Corporate Plan.
One of the major announcements made by the public service broadcaster, was that the SABC will invest over R1 billion in local and international content commissioning and acquisition in the 2013 fiscal, of which over R800 million will be spent in local content commissions, as part of our key role in reviving and further developing our local production industry.
This re-investment by the corporation is despite the fact that the SABC receives only 3% of its revenue from Fiscus (Government funds). The organisation will be using revenue received from payment of television licences as well as our advertising revenue.
The SABC also announced that with the launch of new DTT Channels will also provide our viewers with more choice and value, with a projected local content investment of over R1.7 billion in the first three years of launch of digital terrestrial television.
Going forward, a single Content Planning, Acquisition and Scheduling Process which is informed by Content Research on Audiences and driven by a 36-month transversal/cross-platform multi-channel schedule, will drive the SABC Programming and Content Strategy.
The corporate plan also outlined the SABC’s broad strategic objectives for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period, which included:
1. Restore its liquidity status to that of a going concern by embarking on the implementation of an accelerated turnaround strategy, which will be addressed through:
• Revenue Enhancement
• Cost containment and management
• Meeting the Government Guarantee Conditions;
2. Increase and/or maintain audience share across all platforms through the implementation of multi-platform, multi-channel strategies that are informed and driven by audience needs and;
3. Deliver a Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) value proposition and offering that attracts new audiences and retains the SABC traditional audience base;
4. Restore the integrity of the SABC and Brand reputation;
5. Increase revenue through effective and efficient collection of licence fees;
6. Increase the SABC’s share of advertising spend through vigorous marketing to the Trade;
7. Identify wastage and implementing effective cost cutting measures to improve the SABC financial position;
8. Putting in place innovative and cost effective technology platforms and infrastructure that will facilitate delivery of the SABC mandate of universal access;
9. Involving the public in defining the SABC’s policies through the review of editorial policies in line with legislative requirements and;
10. Defining a viable operating and business model that is efficient and yet support the delivery of the SABC’s mandate and strategy.
The corporation is confident that its strategies to once again turn the organisation into a profitable entity, while continuously meeting its mandate requirements are on track and will be implemented with success during this MTEF period.
The Portfolio Committee on Communications accepted the plan.