According to the Commission’s final Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry report, the global shift toward digital platforms has severely weakened traditional revenue models and eroded the financial stability of news organisations. In SA, the report notes, this transition has been marked by falling advertising revenue and limited growth in paid subscriptions.
“The media doesn’t get fair compensation for their content from the digital platforms, and the digital platforms use that content to generate revenue,” said James Hodge of the Competition Commission.
He explained that the Commission has reached agreements with several platforms to implement remedies aimed at improving the revenue generation capacity of local media companies.
“So the recommendation and remedies we’ve agreed with the platforms are really to try to find ways the media can raise their revenue generation and improve how much revenue they get from digital news they distribute through social media, search and other avenues. So for Google, with the national media contracts for Google News Showcase, this allows the media to monetise that content on Google, including the SA Broadcasting Corporation,” Hodge elaborated.
–SABC/ChannelAfrica–
