76 No. 28743 Act No. 36, 2005 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 18 APRIL 2006 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2005 (7) This section is subject to the provisions of any law relating to the expenditure of political parties during an election period. Equitable treatment of political parties by broadcasting service licensees during election period 59. (1) If, during an election period, the coverage of any broadcasting service extends 5 to the field of elections, political parties and issues relevant thereto, the broadcasting services licensee concerned must afford reasonable opportunities for the discussion of conflicting views and must treat all political parties equitably. (2) In the event of any criticism against a political party being levelled in a particular 10 programme of any broadcasting service— (a) without such party having been afforded an opportunity to respond thereto in such programme; or (b) without the view of such political party having been reflected therein, the broadcasting services licensee concerned must afford such party a reasonable 15 opportunity to respond to the criticism. (3) If, within 48 hours before the commencement of the polling period or during the polling period, a broadcasting services licensee intends broadcasting a programme in which a particular political party is criticised, the licensee must ensure that the political party in question is given a reasonable opportunity to— 20 (a) respond thereto in the same programme; or (b) respond thereto as soon as is reasonably practicable thereafter. (4) Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to the contents of any party election broadcast in the circumstances contemplated in section 57 and any political advertisement in the circumstances contemplated in section 58. Restriction on subscription broadcasting services 25 60. (1) Subscription broadcasting services may not acquire exclusive rights that prevent or hinder the free-to-air broadcasting of national sporting events, as identified in the public interest from time to time, by the Authority, after consultation with the Minister and the Minister of Sport and in accordance with the regulations prescribed by 30 the Authority. (2) In the event of a dispute arising concerning subsection (1), any party may notify the Authority of the dispute in writing and such dispute must be resolved on an expedited basis by the Authority in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Authority. (3) The Authority must prescribe regulations regarding the extent to which subscription broadcast services must carry, subject to commercially negotiable terms, 35 the television programmes provided by a public broadcast service licensee. (4) Subscription broadcasting services may draw their revenues from subscriptions, advertising and sponsorships, however, in no event may advertising or sponsorship, or a combination thereof, be the largest source of annual revenue. Preservation of South African programming 40 61. (1) The Authority may prescribe regulations applicable to broadcasting service licensees regarding the commissioning of independently produced South African programming. (2) For purposes of this section— (a) ‘‘local television content’’ means a television programme, excluding trans- 45 mission of sporting events and compilations thereof, advertisements, teletext and continuity announcements, which is produced— (i) by a broadcasting service licensee; (ii) by a person who is a citizen of, and permanently resident in, the 50 Republic; (iii) by a juristic person, the majority of the directors, shareholders or members of whom are citizens of, and permanently resident in, the Republic; (iv) in a co-production in which persons referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii) 55 or (iii) have at least a fifty percent financial interest; (v) by persons referred to in subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv), in circumstances where the prescribed number of key personnel who are