Justin Pearce
Sponsored programming continues on the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in defiance of its own policy.
Until last year, a regulatory vacuum left the way open for programmes which promoted commercial products under the guise of educational material, in return for sponsorship. Late last year, the SABC introduced a policy restricting the screening of sponsored material. But vague wording and the survival of long-standing contracts mean that the corporation, R93-million in debt, has yet to banish sponsored programmes from its screens.
Your Health, broadcast on SABC 2 on Monday afternoons, contains a regular five-minute insert which is introduced with the words: “Pampers Positive Parenting is brought to you by Pampers” (a brand of disposable nappy). The Pampers logo appears briefly on the screen while the programme is under way, and packets of the nappies invariably appear at some point during the insert.
Yet, the SABC policy bans the use of the phrase “brought to you by …”
SABC head of communications Enoch Sithole said it is possible certain programmes might continue to carry sponsorship to fulfil contracts which were signed before the new policy came into effect.
The acceptance of sponsorship in return for product promotion goes against international norms for a public service broadcaster, and is at odds with other efforts by the SABC to eliminate the bias which easily creeps in when programmes are sponsored.
The first of the guiding principles in the policy document states that “the SABC is committed to protecting and supporting the editorial integrity of its programmes. This is the SABC’s first priority and will not be compromised in favour of commercial gain.”
However, on the specific topic of educational programmes, the SABC policy document is vague: “Sponsorships in, and adjacent to, educational programmes shall be treated with the utmost sensitivity and discretion at all times” is all it says.
Earlier this year, the business news programme Business Day Tonight came close to being pulled off the air when the SABC maintained that the programme’s sponsorship by TrustBank compromised the objectivity which was required of material screened by the public broadcaster. The programme was relaunched as Business Tonight only on condition the bank’s sponsorship be discontinued.