SECTOR 3 3.6 The state/public broadcaster is adequately funded in a manner that protects it from political interference through its budget and from commercial pressure A breakdown of the SABC’s income was provided as 80% from advertising and sponsorship, 17% from licence fees and 3% from government. The issue of funding the SABC was a contentious one. It was felt by some panellists that what the state provided was insufficient in order for it to be sustainable as a public broadcaster, but that more funding from the state could increase interference from the ‘powers that be’. ‘How much do you want the SABC to lean on state coffers? Their credibility is already through the floor and they are trying to rebuild it.’ Another panellist said that financial management was also an issue in this regard. ‘Is the SABC managing its budget effectively? The quality of the financial management there is questionable, and much of this can partly be blamed on the previous executive [officer].’ Others felt the high dependency on advertising and sponsorship income posed a significant threat of commercial, as well as potentially political, interference. They noted that this made it vulnerable. ‘The fact that there is nothing protecting the SABC from commercial interference is really an issue, as they are completely beholden to their advertisers. This is unlike the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation], which has no advertising, so it does not have to bear any commercial pressure.’ ‘It definitely creates a tension when a public broadcaster is reliant on advertising when it is supposed to be fulfilling a public service mandate.’ ‘They have even allowed politicians to pay to be interviewed, notably Bathabile Dlamini, through the 500,000 ZAR [34,000 USD] her Ministry of Social Development paid to the SABC for her to appear on the Real Talk with Anele show.’ An example was given with regard to commercial interests insisting the SABC broadcast more entertainment content, which it reportedly did. ‘This is interfering with the mandate of the SABC as it fundamentally changes the face of the broadcaster.’ As an example of editorial inference from a commercial point of view, it was mentioned that the SABC had a local reality competition, Tropika Island of Treasure, which was a commercially branded TV show sponsored by Clover. 42 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018