A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Communication Science at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / This study examines the function and purpose of public television broadcasters across two countries (South Africa and Nigeria) in order to highlight best practices in public broadcasting for the benefit of the public (who ought to be the target audience). The original idea of public broadcasting was aimed at informing the public about the truth without commercial or political provocation and influence. This study examines whether society has come to accept inappropriate broadcasting practices because of prolonged exposure to these practices. When incorrect behaviour is practised continually over a prolonged period, it becomes accepted as normal in society and this is referred to as normalcy. In this regard, the study was further aimed at investigating and comparing the attitude of viewers towards commercial advertising interruptions during public television viewing time. Literature review within this study also focused on factors which influence viewer rating of public television in Nigeria and South African which ought to be informative and educational while providing suitable entertainment. This study employed a survey method and was conducted among the inhabitants of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Ibadan, South-West, Nigeria. The study was interesting in that viewers’ attitudes across the two countries differed significantly. Generally, South African TV viewers were more accommodating with regards to accepting commercial interruptions during viewing time. On the other hand, Nigerian TV viewers felt that commercial interruptions are disturbances and must not be included in the programmes of public television. The study confirmed that the motives of viewing public TV and behaviour of viewers during the commercial interruptions on the programmes of public TV stations have greatly influenced the attitudes of viewers towards commercial interruptions. Finally, the study offers recommendations guidelines in areas that need more attention based on findings of the study. The study also indicates the limitations of the investigation and provides suggestions for future research.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / The thesis critically analyses the potential of digital technologies – in particular, digital terrestrial television – to enable substantive diversity of programming in a public service broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The thesis deploys critical political economy of the media approaches. These approaches argue for a social constructivist approach to technology and not a celebratory determinist approach, which confuses the potential of technology with what actually happens in ‘real world’, contested policy contexts. The research uses qualitative methodologies, specifically thematic analyses of policy texts and in-depth interviews with policy actors and informants. Ultimately, the thesis finds that the changing political context in South Africa, which has moved away from participatory policy making processes, has resulted in missed opportunities to harness the digital potential to diversify programming. The thesis finds that with the government’s deployment of more authoritarian ‘statist’ and market-orientated policies, the policy space has narrowed, ultimately limiting the possibilities for the delivery of substantive diversity of content and programming. Finally, the thesis finds that to begin to reverse these trends in the digital, multi-channel environment, the government needs to (re)commit to consultative policy making processes and to regulation and public funding in the public interest. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, of the University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in ICT Policy and Regulation October 2016 / In the current era of the digital television (TV) broadcasting dispensation, the relevance of the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) mandate in South Africa remains critical, to inform and build democracy in the public interest. Recent debates with regard to the relevance and retention of PSB in the digital era seem to suggest that there are divergent views in this regard. These debates gave rise to this study. The study aimed to assess and reconfigure the role of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in carrying the public broadcasting mandate in the digital era. Furthermore, the study explored how the PSB remit can be repositioned to meet the needs of South African citizens in the 21st century. In addition, this study investigated the evolution of public service broadcasting policy and the role played by the Department of Communications (DoC), the policy maker in informing policy. The study seeks to ascertain whether the policy direction provided by the DoC is in actual fact in sync with the developments taking place in the TV broadcasting sector. This research followed a qualitative research approach, by exploring the relevance of PSB in the digital era and also by examining South Africa’s 3-tier broadcasting system, with a particular focus on the SABC. The research analysed the SABC (PSBs), MultiChoice (pay-TV licensee), e.tv (Free-to-Air commercial licensee) and Association of Community Television in South Africa (ACT-South Africa), a body representing Community TV licensees, in their attempts to discharge the PSB remit in the digital era. The qualitative paradigm aided in the process of describing and understanding the research topic. The main findings of this study revealed that the PSB mandate still has relevance in the digital era, however weak this may be. The multi-channel and the competitive TV broadcasting landscape will deplete the commercial advertising market share, on which the SABC heavily relies for revenue income. Secondly, the SABC’s mandate can never be upheld unless appropriate funding is secured by government. Lastly, the findings reveal that the DoC has regressed in providing policy and prescriptions and that there is thus a policy vacuum in the implementation of the PSB mandate. / MT2017

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management Sciences: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This qualitative study explored alternative revenue sources within and outside PBS radio stations that can be utilised to improve revenue generation at South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Public Broadcasting Radio Stations (PBS). PBS radio relies heavily on traditional advertising revenue, sponsorships and TV licence fees, revenue sources are insufficient to sustain public broadcasting radio service in South Africa because funding from the South African Government is limited to specific projects. Public broadcasting radio services in South Africa have to provide content of public value while remaining competitive and profitable. The SABC is the sole owner of fifteen public broadcasting radio stations, making it one of the dominant media owners in South Africa. SABC owns all public broadcasting radio stations and has the highest audience penetration in South Africa which should translate into receiving the highest revenue share. However, this is not the case. Commercial radio stations earn a bigger percentage of the pie of advertising revenue although PBS radio stations command higher audience penetration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen public broadcasting radio station managers and three senior public broadcasting managers to ascertain what alternative sources within and outside the radio station can help improve the revenue of the radio stations. The analysis of the data collected through interviews identified that there are a number of alternative sources which can assist in improving the revenue of the radio stations. It is therefore time that PBS Radio stations monetise their audience and not rely heavily on traditional advertising revenue. Six important alternative revenue sources are identified as follows: • Radio station events and outside broadcasts: Revenue generation potential is immense with opportunities for gate-takings, sponsorship and advertising or promotional revenues. • Broadcast syndication and sale of content: Original programming content and popular music genre playlists are sought after by the public or other entities that are prepared to pay for the content. • Radio Station Websites: Opportunities to generate revenue by marketing website opportunities to the public and advertisers. • Merchandising: Radio audiences like to own radio station branded merchandising like t-shirts, caps and jackets which can be made available at radio stations and retail stores for the public to purchase. • Cellular or mobile phones: Mobile phones provide an interactive element to radio campaign advertisements, competitions, and promotions, which should be monetised as an extension to advertisers‟ radio campaigns. • Social Media Platforms: Radio campaigns are extended to social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to target a larger audience. / M