Sony defends SABC deal

By Christelle du Toit, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 05 Sep 2008

Technology company Sony has defended the contract awarded to it by the national broadcaster to facilitate the broadcasting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

There is a pending court bid, lodged by losing black-owned bidder Digital Horizons, opposing the SABC's decision to appoint Sony as the technology provider of the relevant equipment facilities for the sporting event.

According to the Independent Online, the High Court found this application was not urgent, and the case now resides with a civil court. The SABC has, in the meantime, signed with Sony.

While the case is sub judice, it is based on the premise, by Digital Horizons, that Sony does not have the necessary black economic empowerment (BEE) credentials to have received the R300 million tender.

Andrew Fraser, senior manager for brand management at Sony SA, says the company was awarded the tender last month by the SABC to design, build, configure and supply four high-definition (HD) outside broadcast (OB) vans.

"These vehicles [truck trailers] are used for the acquisition of broadcast footage of sporting events, as well as other events," explains Fraser. "The tender specifies that these vehicles should be supplied in time for the Fifa World Cup SA 2010, and that two of the vans should be delivered in time for the Fifa Confederations Cup 2009."

He says the awarding of the tender was based on Sony's ability to design, build, configure and support the units for the duration of their lifespan - usually around 15 years - as well as on the resources that Sony can utilise to deliver a project of this size within a tight timeframe.

Fraser points out that the contract has nothing to do with broadcasting as such - actual broadcast signal transmission is the responsibility of the SABC - but rather the supply of equipment. He believes media reports have been misleading in this regard.

Track record

According to him, Sony is a world leader in broadcast technology and, contrary to media reports, has an excellent reputation and track record for delivering state-of-the-art outside broadcast vans in SA.

"In fact, the first HD OB van in SA was supplied to the SABC in 2006 by Sony. The last five large OB vans supplied in SA were all supplied by Sony, the most recent being M-Net's first HD OB van, which was supplied in April 2008," he says.

"Sony's other HD broadcast installations include M-Net's HD studio - the first in SA - completed earlier this year, which was designed, built and commissioned by Sony."

Fraser did not want to comment on the BEE issue, as raised in the legal case, referring comment to the SABC.

The SABC, in turn, had not responded to media queries by the time of publication.

BEE target

SA 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) spokesman Tim Modise says, while the international broadcast rights for the World Cup lie with Fifa's partner, HBS, all South Africans will have access to the games through the SABC.

According to him, how the SABC goes about delivering on its mandate is "up to it".

With regards to the LOC's BEE practices, he says the target the body has set itself is that 30% of all its business should go to BEE-compliant companies, but, in practice, the LOC has achieved a 40% BEE target.

The LOC does not, however, impose any further BEE requirements upon companies that subcontract to tender winners, merely focusing on the main contractors' own credentials, says Modise.