Shilowa bullish on Joburg's IBC bid

Johannesburg, 27 Jun 2007

The entrance of a new broadcaster strengthens Gauteng's position to host the 2010 World Cup international broadcasting centre (IBC), premier Mbazima Shilowa said in his budget speech yesterday.

"I am convinced CNBC Africa's smooth entry into our economy affirms Gauteng is a key media hub in our country and proves that we will be able to host media organisations that will be coming into our country for the 2010 Soccer World Cup," he said.

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban have been short-listed as possible host cities for the IBC. Department of Communications spokesman Richard Mantu says the announcement of the host city is imminent, following deliberations by Cabinet.

The evaluation of bids for the broadcasting hub started in March. At the time, the World Cup Local Organising Committee would not detail the criteria for a winning bidder, only saying proposals would "have to meet broadcasting and technical requirements".

Latest technology

Shilowa said: "The drive to expand the information and communications technology infrastructure in our province, and our strategies to build a competitive sport sector and host a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup, present further opportunities to create jobs and spur economic growth."

The benefits, he added, of having the broadcaster in the province, are "manifold".

"Not only has it created employment for our people, but - more importantly - it has brought in new technology that our media personnel had never used before. The broadcaster plans to open a media academy and this will further assist in ensuring our people have a good opportunity to acquire skills on the latest media technology that will be used when the football World Cup kicks off in 2010."

Finalising the budget

At this stage, it is not known how much the IBC contract would be worth, and government's total technology spend for 2010 has only been an estimate of around R5 billion.

Earlier this month, the Department of Communications said the final budget for 2010 technology would be finalised soon, following the handover of a FIFA annexure detailing the technology guarantees for the event.

The final budget will be influenced by the technology choices, the cost of equipment and the inflation rates at the time of purchase. Part of the technology budget should include the capital expenditure required for the IBC.

The centre would operate 24 hours, seven days a week during the World Cup, scheduled to take place from 11 June to 11 July 2010. It would also encompass studios and production facilities, and would manage the media centres at the stadiums where the matches and training take place.

Meanwhile, Peter Ndoro, director for corporate communications at CNBC Africa, says the company has spent about R32 million on technology alone to be able to link to any of its worldwide bureaus, at any time.