SABC in carriage fee spat with Sentech
May 28, 2021
South Africa’s SABC public broadcaster is in an acrimonious spat with the nation’s transmission company, Sentech.
SABC has reportedly written to South Africa’s Competition Commission as well as regulator ICASA alleging that Sentech is levying “unfair and anti-competitive price” for carrying SABC’s transmissions.
The move is seen as being a potentially extremely damaging showdown between the two publicly-owned entities.
SABC COO Ian Plaatjes is requesting a probe into Sentech’s carriage fees which it alleges are prohibitive and unaffordable. He argues that Sentech’s fees are the broadcaster’s second-highest cost after salaries and that Sentech is applying “monopoly pricing” on SABC.
The latest agreement between the two expired on March 31st 2021 and renewal made for a 3-month temporary basis only.