Uplink Broadcasting has been granted a licence, but will advertisers support it? Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports on industry views
ADVERTISERS are ambivalent about the new Christian satellite network expected to start broadcasting at year end.
Uplink Broadcasting Limited, a group of about 500 businessmen, has been granted a temporary licence by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to broadcast seven digital channels.
The group, founded by a ministry, was formally registered as a public company last month, at the same time that the IBA “surprisingly granted us a speedy licence to broadcast”, says Uplink chief executive Craig Kinsman.
Kinsman says the move towards a Christian satellite service was prompted by a concern about the “gratuitous and violent nature of television”.
Some advertisers, however, fear that the shrinking advertising pie will not be able to accommodate a third satellite network. Others again argue that fragmentation in the broadcasting industry – such as the introduction of a niche market satellite service dedicated to Christians – will bode well for marketing.
Hunt Lascaris media director Lyndall Campher says niche marketing is “good as the industry is moving towards more personalised communication”.
However, Campher argues that the choice of Christian programming as a niche is questionable as it is a small market which advertisers will not keenly pursue.
“MultiChoice has cornered the market with its 24 digital and three terrestrial channels including its coverage of religious programmes. If Uplink wanted to embark on specialised marketing, a youth service or an Afrikaans target market would have been more appropriate,” argues Campher.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) Astrasat service has been a “damp squib”, says Campher, adding that satellite, although a niche market product, has to provide quality programming and an array of choices. Her concern regarding Uplink’s service is that “it is too specialised”, as there is a “limited amount of religious programmes that one can flight”.
Kinsman admits that the audience Uplink is targeting is small – it aims to reach 350- 000 viewers in five years’ time, but argues that there will be an abundance of variety available on the satellite service.
The seven channels will include:
* A family channel with no religious overtones.
* A Christian channel with a definite religious slant for families.
* An action channel with “unusual sports” such as tractor and pigeon racing. The sports will be entertaining and will not feature sports highlights such as rugby, soccer and cricket as M-Net has exclusive rights to all the big matches, says Kinsman. The sports channel, he says, will seek to meet an entertainment criteria.
* The fourth channel will broadcast Sky News.
* There will be a European channel including Portuguese, Greek and Italian-language programmes.
* The sixth will be an interactive education channel where students will be able to phone in to the studio with questions. “This education channel will be different and will aim to assist students, especially failed matriculants, with various subjects by teaching them via television in a cost- effective manner,” Kinsman says.
* The seventh channel will be a spare channel for mainly business organisations providing various services. “The evening programming on the seventh channel will be dedicated to Afrikaans viewers,” says Kinsman.
He says the the European, education and business channel will have to be subscribed to as extra services; while the other four channels will be received by viewers who install an Uplink decoder and digital satellite system.
Kinsman argues that Hollywood is moving towards a “cleaner image” with 21% of United States film material complying with the criteria of “wholesome television”.
Kinsman says critics of the satellite service should not be under the illusion that there will be no “cuddling” on television because the group is “unable to censor everything”.
He explains that Uplink executives will be “studying material” – including advertisements – prior to broadcasting programmes. But the exact nature of the panel still needs to be thrashed out, he said.
Kinsman says it will be necessary to maintain a balance on the panel and have a mix of opinions. Market researchers testing viewers’ choices of programmes, combined with input from the group and possibly that of respected religious leaders, will allow for an informed decision to be made regarding the selection of appropriate material for screening.
“The decision on whether or not to screen a particular film will, therefore, be made by a balanced panel constituting board members and the public. The market will, however, have the most weighted opinion based on research.”
Advertisements, he says are being sold at “a good price” in a bid to entice advertisers to consider using the Christian service as a marketing medium.
But Saatchi & Saatchi group media director Trish Guilford says this is not enough. She argues that if the satellite is denied an opportunity to advertise on the SABC (because of Astrasat) and on M-Net (because of MultiChoice), the network will be at a disadvantage.
“Also, Uplink has to convince me that they will capture a large enough audience for me to want to advertise on their network. But one wonders where they will draw the viewers from,” says Guilford.
Kinsman says he does not regard the Astrasat and MultiChoice as competition as their markets are completely different. “I foresee Uplink existing alongside the other two satellite networks.”
On expense, Kinsman says that installation costs will be very comparable to analogue prices, although the service will be digital. Somewhere in the range of R1 000, he says. Subscription fees will be about R80 with extra costs for the more specialised channels.
Kinsman says the group was vying to link up with a foreign investor and speculation has been rife that a link-up with Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch is on the cards.
However, a tight-lipped Kinsman refused to divulge any prominent local or foreign investors, saying that an announcement will soon be made.