Judgment No. CCZ 9/2016 38
Const. Application No. CCZ 316/2012
The report by AFRIMAP, OSISA & OSIMP on Zimbabwe in Public Broadcasting
in Africa Series 2009 commented on the funding of the ZBC as follows:
“(1) Licence fees form the backbone of the ZBC revenue sources because they provide
stable, predictable multi-year funding and allow the broadcaster to plan and implement
the necessary investment in programming and operational improvements.”
The system of licence fees is used in the funding of the British Broadcasting
Corporation (the BBC) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (the SABC). The
money from licence fees is collected by the BBC – rather than by a governmental organisation –
and then utilized to fund its programming and operations. In the United States of America
citizens pay the Federal Communication Commission (the FCC) taxes. The amount of the fee is
calculated based on the needs of the FCC. The taxes are collected by cable providers through the
monthly fees paid by television watchers.
The difference between the FCC and the ZBC method of funding is that, instead
of the money being collected directly from the public by the public broadcaster the taxes are
collected by cable providers as middlemen for onward transmission to the FCC. See Andrew
Giarolo “Public Broadcasting” Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law:
Vol 23.2(2013) 439 at 457.
Unlike our statute the South African Broadcasting Services Act expressly
provides that the licence fee must be paid by a person who owns a television set or a radio set.
The system of funding adopted for the BBC and SABC is based on a restriction on the exercise
of the right to receive television or radio programmes broadcast. The applicants did not refer the
Select target paragraph3
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