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 television.
On Wednesday 25 November, CTV organised a “Free-the-Airwaves’ march on Parliament which started at 10am from Keizergracht Street, Cape Town.
The CTV provided the following analysis of the situation which faces community television.
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.
