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January 21, 2010
By Thabiso Mochiko
By Thabiso Mochiko
Despite the media industry going through tough times, with advertising spend declining 5 percent year on year, the broadcasting regulator has received 38 applications for new commercial radio licences in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The list includes broadcasting heavyweights, popular radio disc jockeys Thato "DJ Fresh" Sikwane, Sbusiso "DJ Sbu" Leope and businessman Kenny Setzin, the former director of New Africa Investments Limited, through his investment company Direng Investments. Given Mkhari's MSG Afrika is said to be another applicant.
Political organisations such as Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, and the usual suspects Kagiso Media and Primedia, are also among the consortiums applying for licences.
Last year the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) invited interested parties to bid for a total of three licences in those provinces.
Gauteng will be highly contested this is the last remaining licence in the province. Gauteng-based regional radio stations include KayaFM, YFM, and 702 Talk Radio.
Many of the applicants have applied for licences in all three provinces and those that are positioning themselves for Gauteng have proposed a talk radio format, arguing that the music radio station market is saturated.
This had triggered a call to the government to migrate the radio broadcasting signal from analogue to digital to create space for more stations, an anonymous applicant said.
The list includes broadcasting heavyweights, popular radio disc jockeys Thato "DJ Fresh" Sikwane, Sbusiso "DJ Sbu" Leope and businessman Kenny Setzin, the former director of New Africa Investments Limited, through his investment company Direng Investments. Given Mkhari's MSG Afrika is said to be another applicant.
Political organisations such as Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, and the usual suspects Kagiso Media and Primedia, are also among the consortiums applying for licences.
Last year the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) invited interested parties to bid for a total of three licences in those provinces.
Gauteng will be highly contested this is the last remaining licence in the province. Gauteng-based regional radio stations include KayaFM, YFM, and 702 Talk Radio.
Many of the applicants have applied for licences in all three provinces and those that are positioning themselves for Gauteng have proposed a talk radio format, arguing that the music radio station market is saturated.
This had triggered a call to the government to migrate the radio broadcasting signal from analogue to digital to create space for more stations, an anonymous applicant said.
Avhasei Mukoma, a lawyer and a broadcasting, competition and regulatory policy analyst, said whoever won in Gauteng would have to come up with innovative programmes.
"There is saturation in the music format, there is not much difference in the programming of those radio stations," he said.
"There is a need for a player to integrate racial groups. Most radio stations' listenership is along racial lines. But this will need serious creativity and financial backing."
Icasa's Jubie Matlou said the applications were not yet public as the council was in the process of analysing them.
In 2007 Icasa issued one licence each for Mpumalanga (MPower), North West (Radio North West) and Limpopo provinces. Mkhari's Limpopo-based Capricorn FM broke even and attracted more than 1 million listeners in less than 18 months after its launch.
Setzin, who is also a shareholder in Radio North West and MPower, said the radio stations had felt the brunt of the economic decline but he was confident that the market would turn around this year.
He added that Radio North West would like to extend its coverage to reach a wider audience in the province.
"There is saturation in the music format, there is not much difference in the programming of those radio stations," he said.
"There is a need for a player to integrate racial groups. Most radio stations' listenership is along racial lines. But this will need serious creativity and financial backing."
Icasa's Jubie Matlou said the applications were not yet public as the council was in the process of analysing them.
In 2007 Icasa issued one licence each for Mpumalanga (MPower), North West (Radio North West) and Limpopo provinces. Mkhari's Limpopo-based Capricorn FM broke even and attracted more than 1 million listeners in less than 18 months after its launch.
Setzin, who is also a shareholder in Radio North West and MPower, said the radio stations had felt the brunt of the economic decline but he was confident that the market would turn around this year.
He added that Radio North West would like to extend its coverage to reach a wider audience in the province.
Source: 
Via Yimber Gaviria, Colombia
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