State signal provider Sentech is on track to meet its digital terrestrial television (DTT) targets for the 2010 World Cup, despite reporting a loss for the year, it says.
Dr Pranill Ramchander, portfolio manager for PR and external communications, says the organisation has already received just over R500 million for its DTT roll-out to meet 2010 World Cup obligations.
The state has earmarked about R1 billion for the upgrade to SA's broadcast network, and Ramchander says the second tranche of funding was made available to the firm in the last few months.
Chairman Colin Hickling writes in the company's 2006 annual report - released publicly today: "There are now less than four years to go until SA hosts the world's greatest sporting event. And much work still needs to be done.
"Sentech, SA's national broadcast signal distributor, will play a crucial role not only in ensuring that South Africans get to see all the matches, but also that the world gets to watch the spectacle, in high definition and without interruption."
Sentech, he says, will be ready. "But there's no time to waste. Sentech is ready to do its part to ensure SA hosts the most technologically advanced World Cup ever."
Group loss
However, the state entity reported a group loss after tax for the 2006 year of R74 million, despite an 8% increase in revenue to R668 million. Its loss after tax in the 2005 financial year was R68.8 million at group level. It spent R36 million on capital expenditure, according to its annual report, at group level in the 2006 year.
Hickling writes that SA's television broadcast network has been neglected, making the organisation's job that much harder. "Some parts of the terrestrial network predate the introduction of television in 1976. It has become difficult to source spare parts and the availability of skilled technicians is becoming an issue, not least because many of them are reaching retirement age."
However, Ramchander says funding is on track, with only one tranche still to be received from government so that the company can upgrade from an analogue system to a digital platform. Doing so, says Hickling, will "avoid the very real possibility of a television black-out".
Finance minister Trevor Manuel's 2006 budget set aside R205 million for funding for the first three financial years, starting from the 2006/7 year. Hickling states that the roll-out plan will take about five years, and adds that it has already started, with the oldest transmitters being given priority.
"The upgrade will not be cheap, and the benefits will far outweigh the costs," he wrote. He says DTT makes far better use of scarce radio frequency spectrum, and the transmitters also consume relatively little electricity, making it much cheaper for broadcasters.
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