South African TV: In Need of an Adrenalin Rush

I am in Cape Town, South Africa, talking and listening to producers and people who work in the media industry there. (I am taking part in the Entertainment Masterclass Project. It is supported by SETA, the South African Sector Training Authority).

South Africa seems, on the face of it, to have heaps of potential, a natural hub for pan-African production. After all, it is the most advanced economy in Africa.

But then again, it has some familiar problems. A media industry dominated by a public broadcaster. A deficit of other players ready to commission or invest in new content. Old fashioned terms of trade under which producers get fees but zero rights in their content.

The key to a successful creative industry is innovation. But successful innovation needs development time, and development time is risky. So there need to be good incentives.

At least the problem is recognised. A 2008 report commissioned by SABC, the public broadcaster, from a local law firm  reaches these conclusions about the way Intellectual Property is handled here.

“Problems with the current commissioning environment


1. economic value and financial benefits attaching to IP are unable to be unlocked


2. commissioning and oversight processes not efficient, cost-effective, or user friendly


3. difficult to access outside funding when working with broadcaster


4. creates adversarial relationship between producer and broadcaster


5. other creative talent in independent sector disadvantaged due to IP issues and bad oversight”

SABC’s four channels are by far the main buyers of new content.

Formats seem a natural option for South Africa. I bet there are potential formats for reality or entertainment shows which might resonate with the lives of many Africans, and which could be re-versioned throughout the continent. Formats are not as expensive to develop or make as drama.

Formats are culturally specific. Come Dine with Me is about dinner parties, but they do not do dinner parties everywhere. Successful formats, as one speaker said to me, need to connect with the lives of the people who watch them, need to be distinctive and arouse emotions, to be simple and make people feel good.

In the UK we are fortunate. As a recognised form of Intellectual Property, formats can reap the rewards of success. When a producer pitches an idea, he or she knows that, in most instances, the broadcasters take only limited rights and leave the rest to the producer. The result has been a boom in the licensing of formats which started running with Who Wants to be a Millionaire and went into a sprint in Britain with support from the Independent Terms of Trade. Many British companies today not only licence but also produce their formats' overseas versions.

My guess is that a dry legal report – like the one I have quoted – is probably not going to move things forward. A broadcaster like SABC can talk it down and politicians in a country with a large and dominant public broadcaster are often reluctant to disturb the status quo. SABC broadcasts in many languages and is the voice of nation to its people.

Those who care about this issue are going to need to find a new way of reaching the people that count. They will need to portray in bright lights and strong colours, and in simple language, what the benefits of change might look like. South Africa has a very serious unemployment problem. OK, the media industry is not going to put millions more people to work but it could work uch harder for South Africa's economy. I feel the energy is there. It is waiting to be released.