The future of a true reflection of television consumption statistics in South Africa may be under threat. Both e.tv and the SABC are supporting industry body the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) resigning from the SA Audience Research Foundation (Saarf).
The war between the broadcaster representative and Saarf was over the rejection of the NAB’s proposal for more broadcast media to sit on Saarf’s board. The suggestion was raised at Saarf’s annual general meeting yesterday.
The SABC and e.tv have a proverbial bone to pick with Saarf, which provides annual Television Audience Measurement Survey (Tams) results.
The broadcasters have accused a panel overseeing Tams data of rigging last year’s results. The pair said they had recently called for an audit of the Tams panel after they noticed “serious shortcomings” in the ratings. The SABC and e.tv had experienced an inexplicable fall in ratings in certain living standard measures (LSM) groups, particularly lower- to middle-income groups LSM 4 to LSM 6, who are the free-to-air television providers’ largest consumers, they claimed. An audit by a French media research company confirmed the concerns and showed that upper-income households were over-represented on the Tams panel, whereas middle- to lower-income households were “significantly” under-represented.
“In the South African context, this effectively translates into an over-representation of white television viewership and a serious under-representation of black television viewership,” which was morally unacceptable and resulted in loss of advertising income for e.tv and the SABC. They claimed this had continued for years without intervention from Saarf.
The pair are considering establishing an industry research body and will advise the way forward soon. The NAB’s resignation is effective from December 31 next year, because Saarf required a calendar year’s notice.
African aviation
African airlines will need 1 070 new aircraft worth $130 billion (R1.3 trillion) between now and 2032 to meet rising demand for air travel, including improved connectivity between countries in this continent, according to Miguel Santos, Boeing’s vice-president and head of sales in Africa.
He was speaking at a conference in Johannesburg on the outlook for the aviation industry yesterday. He said that growth in African air travel was slowed by unrest in 2011 but, since then, had outpaced the world average.
Connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world had grown by 7 percent a year from 2009 to 2011 and by 6 percent a year from 2010 to last year, as international airlines saw the economic potential and growing prosperity of this continent, with Middle Eastern airlines joining those from Europe in flying to more destinations and increasing services.
But it was African airlines that were leading the development of the growing network between Africa and Asia, while the number of flights to America by African airlines had doubled. So far only one US airline – Delta – was flying into sub-Saharan Africa.
The age of the commercial jet fleet in Africa was declining as new deliveries arrived but it was still above the world average. To meet expected demand, 76 percent of the new aircraft African airlines would be needed for growth rather than for replacement and 68 percent, or 730, would be single aisle and 23 percent, or 250, would be small wide-bodied planes.
Opportunities existed for African airlines to grow and open new markets, and the more efficient and fuel-economic new generation aircraft provided the ideal tools for them to grow efficiently and profitably.
He pointed out that airline travel throughout the world had grown at a rate of 5 percent a year since 1980 despite four recessions, two financial crises, two Gulf wars, the shock of steeply rising oil prices, a pandemic and the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York.
The soaring price of jet fuel and the expansion of low-cost airlines had affected the business model and led to the replacement of older aircraft.
Air Zimbabwe
Air Zimbabwe, which was forced to stop flying before the last election in that country when it was deprived of its cash reserves, has made a very discreet comeback.
A news agency report earlier this week said it was about to resume flying. But in fact it did so in November and the news quickly leaked out to enough people to make its flights very well supported.
It now has 10 flights a week between Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International and Harare, and a spokesperson assured Business Report that at present it was flying with full passenger loads.
It has been spotted at the airport using a new, leased, Airbus to the delight of a spokesperson for the manufacturer.
There are apparently no immediate plans for it to fly to Cape Town or Durban.
But South African passengers bound for Harare have a choice of flights by SAA, Comair or Airlink. And SA Express is now launching a passenger service between Durban and Harare, obviously expecting to cater for a rise in travel after the forthcoming election. The arrival of its first flight will be given a warm welcome.
It launched a number of cargo services to other countries in the Southern African Development Community from Durban last year to stimulate trade within the bloc.
Some South African companies have already invested there, with encouragement from our government, clearly expecting a return to normality in Zimbabwe.
But some have been more cautious and prefer to wait for the outcome of the election, or have limited new investment to the neighbourhood of the Victoria Falls, which has been run almost as a separate enclave to encourage the continued arrival of South African and other tourists.
Edited by Peter DeIonno. With contributions by Asha Speckman and Audrey D’Angelo.