DTT: The White Elephant of South African Broadcasting
A scathing critique of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in South Africa was delivered by eMedia CEO Khalik Sherrif, who believes the technology has failed and should be scrapped. Speaking at a public hearing, Sherrif slammed the government’s mishandling of the DTT project, saying it has been a lazy, expensive, and archaic failure.
The Self-Inflicted Woes of DTT
Sherrif likened South Africa’s DTT experience to the country’s leapfrogging of landline telephones, where many people skipped straight to mobile devices. "We are now at a point where DTT is archaic, expensive, and will not work because television has evolved," he said. "Instead of taking broadcasting to a new level, DTT has become a relic of the past."
The Analogue Luddites
Sherrif also criticized the government’s plan to switch off analogue television by the end of 2024, calling it "premature." He predicted that millions of households will still rely on analogue broadcasts due to a lack of access to digital technology, and warned that the loss of these viewers would be devastating for free-to-air broadcasters like eMedia and the SABC.
A New Path Forward
eMedia’s proposal is to skip DTT altogether and move straight to newer, higher-definition technologies like HD, 4K, and 8K. Sherrif believes this would allow South Africa to catch up with the rest of the world and provide better viewing experiences for consumers.
The Death of DTT
The writing appears to be on the wall for DTT in South Africa. As Sherrif so eloquently put it, "The future of DTT in South Africa appears to be precarious at best, or doomed to failure." With eMedia’s proposal to abandon DTT and focus on newer technologies, the outlook for this white elephant project is bleak indeed.
