10 November, 2016 - 08:15
A session at DISCOP Johannesburg 2016 shed light on the various models that the national public broadcaster, the SABC, is using to commission and acquire content, as well as what types of programming that are currently in demand for the channels.
SABC's bouquet includes 19 radio stations and five networks, which are the free-to-air channels SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 and the digital networks SABC News and SABC Encore. Blessed Katiyo, the head of commissioning at the SABC, explained that the commissioning office is the entry point for all forms of content for the SABC, which uses several methods to select programming it airs. One of which is 100 per cent commissioning, via the RFP (request for proposal) or the unsolicited process.
We had a brief book that we put out on the market in November 2014, Katiyo said. We had a huge response-we received close to 1 500 individual submissions We are done with the evaluations and the pitching sessions and are in the process of communicating now with the producers. He said that going forward, the plans are to put the briefs on the commissioning website, rather than in a large brief book that takes a long time to compile and complete.
Along with commissioning, the SABC is also open to co-productions and joint ventures. If you have R$5 million and you want another R$5 million, we are open to engaging with each other to make it happen.
The third method is presales, for projects that are in development. For finished productions, SABC does license content. We can also acquire content through advertiser-funded programmes, he added.
Katiyo outlined the submission requirements as well. For commissioning, interested parties are required to submit five printed copies of their proposal, including story synopsis, treatment and character bible (where applicable). For commissions, we also must get a budget from you, to say how much it will cost the SABC to produce it. We have a budget template available on our website. Submissions must also include a brief about the company profile and the biographies of key creatives attached to the project. We only deal with formally registered entities; we don't deal with individuals, for governance purposes, he shared. So your company must be formally registered and have the requisite documents.
For those who want to license their content, the SABC requires five DVD copies for the submission. For those looking to submit ad-funded productions, there must be a letter of interest from potential sponsors. For presales or co-productions, the SABC needs the synoposis of the story as well as the funding model being proposed. If there are external funders, they require proof that discussions are in the works with corporations that would provide financing.
Danie Swart, the head of SABC Education, has been leading the local content acquisitions special projects. In May, SABC undertook a decision to improve and increase our local content, and I was brought in to assist the commissioning office to help South Africans design their proposals and get them into the right format to be able to register them with SABC.
He is also responsible for any type of educational content on the SABC platforms, including the radio stations and TV channels. What's nice about us is that we do have 360-degree projects. We love it when people approach SABC and say, I've got this brilliant idea and part of it is a television concept but we also would like to support our programme with talk shows on radio and we want to target youth through social-media platforms.' And that's what's so nice about SABC Education: we have a digital section, a marketing section and an outreach initiative.
Swart added that the educutation arm does produce across all formats: it can be a drama, game show, documentary, magazine show, talk show. The same is true for all of the SABC's other genre departments, which are drama, religion, factual, entertainment and children's.
When people ask, How do we pitch an idea to the SABC?' One thing to note is that it's about more than just sitting at home and having an idea in your head and thinking that will be enough to come to the SABC and say, This is my idea.' You need more than that.
Nokuthula Msimang, the head of SABC Children, spoke about her remit to target kids aged 2 to 16, with the primary blocks being early childhood development, the under nines, 9 to 12 and teens. The secondary audience is caregivers. Children's programming airs across SABC1, 2, 3 and Encore, and there is a YouTube channel, which is primarily home to the early-childhood-development content. The programming anchor is iconic shows, according to Msimang, including Takalani Sesame, the local version of Sesame Street. We have a dual strategy, she explained. We have a lot of content that is in the local languages, but we ensure that there is an English version as well so that all children can access the content.
She said that there is currently a need for more children's content for the platforms. When you are submitting content for SABC Children, really what you want to do is stand out from the clutter. There are a lot of children's channels that have predominantly international content. Our USP as SABC Children is that we put South African children at the centre of our content. Children can see themselves and their voices are reflected in the way that they want to be heard.
SABC Children does have strategic partnerships, where it then can localise existing content and dub it into local languages. Young producers, come to the SABC! I know sometimes it feels a bit like you're playing dice; it is quite hard with all of the paperwork, certificates and clearances. Have all of your logistics in place. It's great to have a wonderful idea, but
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10 November, 2016 - 08:15 
