Cape Town TV (CTV) has been on air for more than a year, providing relevant, informative local and international programming to nearly a million viewers. The channel is now under threat due to government’s lack of support for community TV.
CTV has made an appeal to the public to stand up for community television’s right to communicate by joining the “Free-the-Airwaves’ march on Parliament on Wednesday 25 November. The march will start at 10am from Keizergracht Street, Cape Town (opposite the Castle).
Issues:
- ICASA plans to take CTV off air early next year to make way for cell phone TV because ICASA has not allocated any frequencies for CTV use
- Non-profit community TV stations are charged commercial rates for transmission costs by the state owned Sentech.
- Community TV stations are not protected during and after the migration to digital terrestrial television.
CTV demands:
- That CTV is not switched off when ICASA licenses a new cell phone TV operator next year but that a frequency is located for CTV’s use.
- Immediate government financial support for community broadcasters signal distribution costs – including community radio.
- That Sentech provides CTV with a good quality signal and transmission for free or at a significantly reduced rate.
- That community TV is protected during and after the migration to Digital Terrestrial Television.
