30 years of independent broadcasting.

In this document, Prof Franz Krüger takes us on an incredible journey of the sector in looking back, looking in, and looking forward! He reflects on the formative years of policy and regulation, sets out key shifts in the landscape, and considers the impact of digital technologies and global platforms on the sustainability of the sector.

To celebrate 30 years of the NAB and the BCCSA, the NAB engaged independent consultant, Jayshree Pather, to assist in developing this overview of key highlights of the community broadcasting sector – the first tier of broadcasting that was licensed in the lead-up to South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.

Wits Radio Academy’s Prof Franz Kruger, Mike Smurthwaite and Dr Monji partnered with OSISA in 2013 to develop a toolkit for Community Radio, that could help stations, boards and stakeholders assess the overall health of any Community station. The toolkit was developed to have both qualitative and quantitative outputs.

Audience measurement plays an important role for advertisers and broadcasters. Firstly, it helps to provide broadcasters with information relating to the viewing patterns of customers, and as a result informs decisions on programmes, scheduling advertising rates. Secondly, it allows advertisers to understand viewing patterns allowing informed decisions to be made on where to place advertisements to reach the correct target audience at the lowest cost.

KPMG was commissioned by the NAB to conduct a survey of broadcasters’ attitudes to local content and a comparison of local content regulation in other countries.

NAB and PWC jointly undertook a project on the future of broadcasting policy in South Africa. The results were presented to various decision makers