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This document is offered compliments of BSP Media Group. www.bspmediagroup.com
All rights reserved.
ASSESSING PRACTICAL AND
EFFECTIVEWAYS OF REGULATING
CONTENT WITHIN THE DIGITAL
ECOSYSTEM
Dr. Mashilo Boloka
South Africa
IMPACT OF DTT ON CONTENTNote: DTT ushers a multichannel environment
Effects: A period of disruptive change evidenced by:
• Demand for content and intense competition thereof: the local
capacity?
• Heightened broadcasting signal piracy
• Channels are becoming more specialized and niched
• Tech-neutrality vs tech-specificity of content rights
• Content not previously in the mainstream regulation becoming
brought in
• Changing content business models
• 3-tier broadcasting system blurring and difficult to maintain
• Rising Content costs
• Changing viewing patterns and revision of prime-time
•
LESSONS FROM EUROPE
AFTER ASO - EBU• multiplication of the channels = more fragmentation of the offer =
reduction of the audiences = more import of foreign contents
• reduction of the audiences for national channels = less advertising
incomes = less resources for production. In Italy over 2 digital years –
18% for the top 6 channels
• less social cohesion: citizens are not anymore seeing the same
programme at the same time
Therefore, regulatory flexibility in view of changing environment is
required.
Rationale for content
regulations • Economic
• Social
• Political
• Cultural
• Transformation (SA)
EMERGING CONTENT
REGULATORY ISSUES &
REGULATORY CHALLENGES• IP frameworks being strengthened (globally): The capacity of
regulators
• Declining public broadcasting systems and growing Pay TV: implications for local cultures and content
• Unchanging power shift in content flow: Strengthening local content quotas (see Tanzania, Discovery Communications Annual Report)?
• Note: regulation alone may not adequate: Incentives in funding
content production may assist
• Unprecedented demands (spectrum, audience,
• Rapid hogging of premium content: implication for competitive landscape or entry by new role-players
• The difficulty and inadequacy of separate regulatory environment (Classification Authority, broadcast regulators, Copyright commissions, competition authorities)
TRADITIONAL AREAS OF
CONTENT REGULATION• Local content quotas
• To promote local cultures & industries
• Classification
• Protection of children against harmful content
• Political content, including elections
• Hate speech and level the political landscape
• Time channel (Prime-time)
• Must Carry obligations or retransmission consent
• Universal access to public broadcasting
• Ownership & control rules
• To promote diversity of content
• 3-tier system
• Content of National Interests
• To enhance its universal access
• Content Commissioning and acquisition
• To guard against uncompetitive behavior and improve transparency
Effective regulation in a DTT
ecosystem• Notes:
• A lot of content infringements will occur on non-traditional
broadcasting platforms
• It’s not the number of channels that will ring about content
diversity : See the Pay TV business models, Repeats and Imitative
Uniformity
• Overcoming the advantages gained by incumbents beyond ASO
who received incentive channels
Effective regulation in a DTT
ecosystem• Light touch instead of heavy handedness
• Emphasis on compliance and enforcement instead of
regulatory formulation
• DTT brings efficiency through compression: Therefore, a
compressed regulatory system:
• Co-regulation (local and global)
• Single regulatory instruments instead of multiple sets
CONCLUSION
• DTT presents:
• Global ecosystem,
Note: signal piracy, harmful content, Spectrum, like terrorism, are
all global problems requiring a global strategy, hence the
importance of multilateral treaties
• Holistic,
• Though economically oriented it has to be public centric
• It will be unpredictable and imperfect (trial and error) system
• Requires partnership
• Flexibility in regulation will be key.
• In DTT environment , regulation has to be a real Balancing
Act…
THANK YOU
mboloka@dtps.gov.za
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