The SABC will be allowed to broadcast regional television programmes on two stations in official languages other than English, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) announced on Wednesday.
Icasa is to grant the SABC two regional TV broadcasting licences for this purpose.
However, the issuing of these licences is suspended pending the SABC procuring appropriate and sufficient funding to Icasa’s satisfaction, a press conference in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday.
Icasa chairman Mandla Langa said SABC 4 would broadcast in Setswana, Sesotho, Sepedi and TshiVenda, Xitsonga and Afrikaans in Limpopo, North West, Gauteng, the Free State and the Northern Cape.
SABC 5 would use IsiZulu, Isixhosa, Isindebele, Siswati and Afrikaans in broadcasts to Mpumalanga, to the east of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.
”The Authority has decided not to allow English as a language of broadcast, on neither SABC 4 nor SABC 5,” said Langa.
However it would not be totally excluded and could appear in instances such as sound bytes on a current affairs or news programmes in which a person being interviewed spoke in English.
Advertising would be allowed on the two channels, which was a deviation from the position paper on public regional television services.
This was because of changed circumstances since the publication of the position paper, said Langa.
Regarding content, Icasa decided that the regional programmes should phase in drama productions more quickly than the SABC had requested in its proposal, and introduce them from their third year of going on air.
”The authority believes that its decision to accelerate the production and broadcasting of South African drama in marginalised languages is in the public interest.” -Sapa