In a letter to eMedia, executive director of broadcasting at Kagiso Media, Omar Essack, has hit back strongly at communications strategist Clive Simpkins, who accused him in a column on Moneyweb last week of making ‘sanctimonious protestations” to the broadcast regulator over the last remaining FM signal in Johannesburg.
Kagiso Media, owners of Jacaranda 94.2 and East Coast Radio, is currently the only rival of Primedia for supremacy in South Africa’s commercial radio space. Simpkins argued in the opinion piece that the 92.7FM frequency should go to Primedia’s Talk Radio 702.
‘If Kagiso want the one and only FM signal left in Jozi, let ’em say so! But don’t play social conscience custodian and pontificate in obsequious, politically correct oral submissions to the authorities,” he wrote.
”The 92.7FM signal is the last FM signal available in Johannesburg. Primedia, specifically Talk Radio 702, would clearly give their eye teeth for the signal. Their 702 medium wave (MW) signal has been aptly (and I believe euphemistically) described as ‘obsolete and deteriorating’.”
Simpkins went on to argue that, ‘702 would almost certainly have been allocated an FM signal by the ruling National Party had it not adopted a contrapuntal political stance.
‘It’s time for the likes of Kagiso to stop making blatantly nonsensical protestations along the lines of ‘With such limited FM space and with possibly new smaller players reluctant to use the MW channels because 702 found the frequency not viable, the band could become extinct…’”
Essack’s response to Simpkins reads, verbatim, as follows: ‘I read recently on the ‘Exclusive Books’ website that you were inspired to write by reading Enid Blyton. Perhaps it’s best that you stick to fairy tales.
‘This is the real world and there are many subtexts and plot layers that have probably escaped you in Primedia’s application to migrate a MW station to FM.
‘As a pedestrian wordsmith, I beg your indulgence while I clumsily make the case for a more critical look at the possible motives involved in this case.
‘Firstly, let me clarify Kagiso Media’s position. Like any player in media and radio, we would certainly be interested in a frequency in Johannesburg. So forget your allegations of corporate obfuscation.
‘My key point is that the allocation of a frequency as valuable as this one must be determined via a competitive process and all comers should be allowed to make proposals on how they would best use the frequency to serve the needs of the community of Johannesburg, and this process would include 702.
‘There are a number of underserved communities and markets in Gauteng who deserve a fair crack at applying for 92.7. South Africa’s indigenous languages are only serviced by SABC- controlled radio stations, all of whom have a public service mandate to fulfill. Should it not be argued, for example, that in densely populated Johannesburg, with its vast population of isiZulu, isiXhosa and other language speakers, the time has come for more choice?
‘Should our fellow South Africans not have the same privileges that we English speakers enjoy, or must they be condemned to PBS broadcasters for life?
‘Icasa has a responsibility to increase and diversify the pool of private media/broadcast owners and offer more format and programming options.
‘Also, South Africa can ill afford to consign MW to the scrap heap, which is effectively what we will be doing by migrating the only successful commercial service on the band, to FM.
‘Around the world, well maintained, modern and correctly located MW transmitters service communities exceptionally well. Thousands of Talk and Talk Sport radio stations continue to broadcast on MW successfully everyday. There must be a way for 702 to do the same and the national signal carrier, Sentech, has a responsibility to make it possible, not just for 702 but for further licensing in Talk fomats on the neglected MW band.
‘There are some sceptics who suggest that Primedia’s application for the last available FM frequency isn’t about poor signal or better serving its listeners, but to effectively keep any further competition out of this lucrative space. They argue that the LSM 7-10 mainly white English speakers in their 30s, will be ‘owned’ by Primedia stations, should Icasa allocate 92.7 to 702. This would allow Primedia stations to price for their dominance of that market and prejudice advertisers, other broadcasters and even listeners.
‘The only other competitor in that exact space is SAfm. Perhaps there is merit in that argument. Perhaps this application is a bold move to protect and entrench Primedia’s dominant position in the market.
‘And why not, you may ask.
‘If they can pull it off, good luck to them.
‘We would argue that South Africans deserve a fair process, not another monopoly.”
For the full text of the Simpkins article, go to www.moneyweb.co.za/economy/soapbox/512075.htm
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