Broadcasting Act, 1999 (Act No. 4 of 1999)Chapter I : Fundamental Principles and Interpretation1. Definitions and interpretation |
| (1) | In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates, radio, sound broadcasting service and television set have the meaning assigned thereto in the Electronic Communications Act, and— |
"Advisory Body"
means the South African Broadcast Production Advisory Body established in terms of section 38 of this Act;
"appointing body"
means the body charged with the appointment of members of the Board in terms of section 13 of this Act;
"authorised inspector"
means an authorised inspector appointed by the Corporation in terms of section 27(6) of this Act;
[Definition inserted by section 2(a) of Notice No. 182, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"Authority"
means the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa established by section 3 of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa Act, 2000;
[Definition substituted by item 1 of the Schedule, section 23 of Act No. 13 of 2000, GG 21154, dated 5 May 2000]
"Board"
means the Corporation;
[Definition substituted by section 2(b) of Notice No. 182, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"broadcaster"
means any legal or natural person who composes or packages television or radio programme services for reception by the public or sections of the public or subscribers to such a service irrespective of technology used;
[Definition substituted by section 2(c) of Notice No. 182, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"broadcasting"
means any form of unidirectional electronic communications intended for the public, sections of the public or subscribers to any broadcasting service having appropriate receiving facilities, whether carried by means of radio frequency spectrum or any other electronic communications network or any combination of the aforementioned, and "broadcast" is construed accordingly;
"broadcasting licence"
means a licence granted and issued by the Authority in terms of this Act or the Electronic Communications Act, to a person for the purpose of providing a defined category of broadcasting service, or deemed by this Act or the Electronic Communications Act, to have been so granted and issued;
"broadcasting licensee"
means the holder of a broadcasting licence;
"broadcasting service"
means "broadcasting service" as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition substituted by item 2(d) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"broadcasting services frequency bands"
means that part of the electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum which is allocated for the use of broadcasting services by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in so far as such allocation has been agreed to or adopted by the Republic;
"broadcasting signal distribution"
means the process whereby the output signal of a broadcasting service is taken from the point of origin, being the point where such signal is made available in its final content format, from where it is conveyed to any broadcast target area by means of electronic communications and includes multi-channel distribution;
[Definition substituted by item 2(e) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"broadcasting signal distribution licence"
means an electronic communications service licence where the holder of the electronic communications service licence provides a broadcasting signal distribution service;
[Definition substituted by item 2(h) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"broadcasting signal distribution licensee"
[Definition deleted by item 2(f) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"broadcasting signal distribution service"
means a service whereby broadcasting signal distribution is provided;
[Definition inserted by section 2(f) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"business"
for the purpose of the definition of "record" and section 27 means a person who uses a television set—
| (a) | in the course of conducting his or her business; |
| (b) | in the course of exchanging in commercial transactions; |
| (c) | as part of his or her activities for gain; or |
| (d) | on premises which are occupied for business purposes, |
but excludes a dealer and lessor
[Definition inserted by section 2(f) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
[Definition substituted by section 2(g) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
[Definition inserted by section 2(h) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
means a broadcasting service which—
| (a) | is fully controlled by a non-profit entity and carried on for non-profitable purposes; ' |
| (b) | serves a particular community; |
| (c) | encourages members of the community served by it or persons associated with or promoting the interests of such community to participate in the selection and provision of programmes to be broadcast in the course of such broadcasting service; and |
| (d) | may be funded by donations, grants, sponsorships or advertising or membership fees, or by any combination of the aforementioned; |
"Corporation"
means the South African Broadcasting Corporation Limited upon conversion of the old Corporation in terms of section 8A of this Act;
[Definition substituted by section 2(i) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"date of conversion"
means the date determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, as stipulated in section 8A(l);
[Definition inserted by section 2(j) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"dealer"
means a person who engages in the business of selling television sets;
[Definition inserted by section 2(j) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"Department"
means the Department of Communications;
"direct to home broadcasting"
[Definition deleted by section 2(k) of Act No. 64 of 2002]
"due diligence report"
means the due diligence report to be prepared by the old Corporation in terms of section 8A(12)(a);
[Definition inserted by section 2(l) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"electronic communications"
means "electronic communications" as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition inserted by item 2(g) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"Electronic Communications Act"
means the Electronic Communications Act, 2005;
[Definition inserted by item 2(g) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"electronic communications service"
means electronic communications service as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition inserted by item 2(g) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"electronic communications service licensee"
means electronic communications service licensee as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition inserted by item 2(g) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"encryption"
means a method for changing a broadcasting signal in a systematic way so that the signal would be unintelligible without a suitable receiving equipment;
"free-to-air service"
means a service which is broadcast and capable of being received without payment of subscription fees;
[Definition substituted by section 2(m) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"IBA Act"
[Definition deleted by item 2(f) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"incorporation date"
[Definition deleted by section 2(n) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"inventory"
means the inventory to be prepared by the old Corporation and submitted to the Minister in accordance with the provisions of section 8A(13)(a);
[Definition inserted by section 2(o) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"lessor"
means a person who engages in the business of renting out television sets;
[Definition inserted by section 2(o) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"licence"
means a broadcasting licence or a broadcasting signal distribution licence;
[Definition inserted by section 2(o) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"licence area"
means the geographical target area of a broadcasting service as specified in the relevant broadcasting licence;
"licensee"
means the holder of any licence granted and issued under this Act or the Electronic Communications Act or deemed by this Act or the Electronic Communications Act to have been so granted and so issued;
"local content"
has a meaning similar to the meaning set out in section 53 of the Electronic Communications Act;
"local delivery service"
[Definition deleted by section 2(q) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003].
"low power sound broadcasting service"
means a community, private or public sound broadcasting service which radiates power not exceeding one watt;
"member"
means executive and non-executive members of the Board referred to in sections 12 and 13 of this Act;
"Minister"
means the Minister charged with the administration of this Act;
"multi-channel distribution service"
means a broadcasting signal distribution service that provides broadcasting signal distribution of more than one channel at the same time on the same signal, and 'multi-channel distributor' is construed accordingly;
[Definition substituted by section 2(r) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"National Revenue Fund"
means the Fund established by section 213 of the Constitution; "old Corporation" means the South African Broadcasting Corporation established in terms of the Broadcasting Act, 1976 (Act No. 73 of 1976);
"old Corporation"
means the South African Broadcasting Corporation established in terms of the Broadcasting Act, 1976 (Act No. 73 of 1976);
"person"
has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Interpretation Act, 1957 (Act No. 33 of 1957), and includes any department of state or administration in the national, provincial or local spheres of government;
[Definition inserted by section 2(s) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"prescribed"
means prescribed by regulation;
"President"
means the President of the Republic of South Africa;
"public broadcasting service"
means—
| (a) | any broadcasting service provided by the South African Broadcasting Corporation; |
| (b) | a broadcasting service provided by any other statutory body; or |
| (c) | a broadcasting service provided by a person who receives his or her revenue, either wholly or partly, from licence fees levied in respect of the licensing of persons in relation to sound radio sets and in relation to television sets, or from the State, and must include a commercially operated broadcasting service provided by a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this definition; |
"Public Finance Management Act"
means the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);
[Definition inserted by section 2(t) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"public service division"
means the public service division of the Corporation contemplated in section 9(1)(a);
[Definition inserted by section 2(t) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"radio"
means radio as defined in the Electronic Communications Act;
[Definition substituted by item 2(i) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"record"
means the information as prescribed which mist be provided by a business or dealer or such information as is reasonably required by an authorised inspector in order to determine whether a business or dealer has complied with this Act;
[Definition inserted by section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"Registrar"
means the Registrar of Companies, as defined in the Companies Act;
[Definition inserted by section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"regulation"
means a regulation made under section 40 but excludes financial regulations made under section 18;
[Definition inserted by section 2(u) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"satellite broadcasting service"
means a service which is broadcast by transmitters situated on a satellite;
"sound broadcasting service"
means a broadcasting service destined to be received by a sound radio set;
"sound radio set"
means any apparatus designed or adapted to be capable of receiving by radio the transmissions broadcast by a broadcasting service, and reproducing them in the form of sounds, but not also in the form of images or other visible signs or signals;
"subscription broadcasting service"
means a broadcasting service provided to an end user upon the payment of a fee;
"telecommunications"
[Definition deleted by item 2(f) of the Schedule, section 97 of Act No. 36 of 2005, GG 28743, dated 18 April 2006]
"television broadcasting service"
means a broadcasting service consisting in the sending of visual images of other visible signals whether with or without accompanying sounds, where the visual images are such that sequences of them are seen as moving pictures;
"television licence"
means a current and valid written licence issued in terms of this Act for the use of a television set;
[Definition inserted by section 2(v) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"television licence fee"
means a fee prescribed in terms of this Act and payable for the use of a television set;
[Definition inserted by section 2(v) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"terrestrial broadcasting service"
means a service that is broadcast from a transmitter situated upon the earth's surface;
"transfer date"
[Definition deleted by section 2(x) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
"use"
means the use or possession of a television set or permitting any other person to use or possess a television set and the words 'user' and 'used' are construed accordingly;
[Definition inserted by section 2(w) of Act No. 64 of 2002, GG 24340, dated 4 February 2003]
| (2) | Any interpretation of the provisions of this Act must be construed and applied in a manner which is consistent with freedom of expression and the journalistic, creative and programming independence of the broadcasters guaranteed by the Constitution. |
| (3) | [Section 1(3) deleted by section 2(y) of Act No. 64 of 2002]. |