Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)Chapter 9 : Broadcasting Services61. Preservation of South African programming |
| (1) | The Authority may prescribe regulations applicable to broadcasting service licensees regarding the commissioning of independently produced South African programming. |
| (2) | For purposes of this section— |
| (a) | "local television content" means a television programme, excluding transmission of sporting events and compilations thereof, advertisements, teletext and continuity announcements, which is produced— |
| (i) | by a broadcasting service licensee; |
| (iii) | by a juristic person, the majority of the directors, shareholders or members of whom are citizens of, and permanently resident in, the Republic; |
| (iv) | in a co-production in which persons referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii) or (iii) have at least a fifty percent financial interest; |
| (v) | by persons referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv), in circumstances where the prescribed number of key personnel who are involved in the production of the television programme, are citizens of, and permanently resident in, the Republic; or |
| (vi) | by persons referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv), in circumstances where the prescribed percentage of the production costs are incurred in the Republic; |
| (b) | "independent television production" means a production of local television content— |
| (i) | by a person not directly or indirectly employed by any broadcasting service licensee; or |
| (ii) | by a person who is not controlled by or is not in control of any broadcasting service licensee; and |
| (c) | a musical work broadcast by a broadcasting service licensee qualifies as ‘‘South African music’’ if such work complies with at least two of the following criteria, namely— |
| (i) | if the lyrics (if any) were written by a South African citizen; |
| (ii) | if the music was written by a South African citizen; |
| (iii) | if the music or lyrics was or were principally performed by musicians who are South African citizens; |
| (iv) | if the musical work consists of a live performance which is— |
| (aa) | recorded wholly in the Republic; or |
| (bb) | performed wholly in the Republic and broadcast live in the Republic. |
| (3) | The Authority may, in respect of the television broadcasting service licence, impose and specify in that licence, such conditions, as prescribed, regarding local television content and independent television production, which without derogating from the generality of the foregoing, may include any conditions requiring the broadcasting service licensee— |
| (a) | to annually expend a specified sum of money, subject to reasonable yearly escalation or, alternatively, a specified minimum percentage of its gross revenue, on programmes which have local television content; |
| (b) | to allocate a specified minimum percentage of its total broadcasting time to television programmes which have local television content; |
| (c) | in the case where the broadcasting service licensee has a regional or local licence area, to allocate a specified minimum percentage of broadcasting time to local television programmes which have been produced in the relevant region or locality; and |
| (d) | to allocate a specified minimum portion of the percentage referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), whichever is applicable, to a prescribed diversity of television programmes which are independent television productions. |
| (4) | The Authority may, in relation to a sound broadcasting service, prescribe conditions in terms of which the broadcasting service licensee is required to broadcast a specified minimum percentage of musical works which qualify as South African music. |
| (5) | In prescribing any amount or percentage in terms of subsections (3) or (4), the Authority may prescribe the application thereof with regard to— |
| (a) | any of the categories of broadcasting service licence referred to in sections 49, 50 and 51; |
| (b) | defined viewing and listening times, where applicable; |
| (c) | various categories of television programmes, where applicable; and |
| (d) | the period within which the broadcasting service licensee must comply with the provisions of this section. |