Since the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry in 1969 to consider the desirability or otherwise of introducing a television service in South Africa and the subsequent establishment of television in the Republic in 1976, no official policy statement has been announced on possible future television developments. This study's main contribution to knowledge is in attempting to provide a framework for such development, based on an evaluation of relevant television system experience. In addition, this dissertation attempts to measure public attitudes to television's performance, organisation and regulation after eight years of operation. To date, no published research exists on these aspects of television broadcasting in South Africa. In this dissertation, an historic and contemporary analysis of selected television systems, a social and economic justification for moving South Africa from its present monopoly broadcasting structure is presented. A synthesis of television experience with particular reference to Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is evolved, suggesting how this transition to a plural system, permitting independent television broadcasting, might be achieved. The resulting proposal recommends that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) should remain the principal instrument of national broadcasting, but entry should be granted to a regional television service based on the major metropolitan centres. This independent service should have the capacity for national broadcasting of programmes through network arrangements. The alternative service would be formed by a partnership of state and private sector interests with the Afrikaans and English press groups having a significant role in the latter. The system calls for the utilisation of a domestic communications satellite for efficient distribution of both SABC and independent television channels.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/8371 |
| Date | January 1984 |
| Creators | McCarney, L J (Lawrence Joseph) |
| Contributors | Gurzynski, Ben |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Commerce, School of Economics |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | application/pdf |
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