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