MultiChoice honoured to join Heritage Month dialogue on piracy in the creative sector
The Heritage Month Dialogue brought together government leaders and industry stakeholders, including MultiChoice, the SABC and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), to address the growing threat of piracy on South Africa’s screen economy.
The event was hosted in Polokwane as part of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEFA) Outreach Event.
The engagement reaffirmed MultiChoice’s commitment to safeguarding creativity and protecting authentic township storytelling.
MultiChoice participated in the panel discussion “Piracy in the Screen Economy: Building Authentic Township Stories”, convened by the Film & Publication Board.
The session formed part of a broader stakeholder programme led by the Honourable Minister of Small Business Development, Ms. Stella Tembisa Ndabeni, and supported by DSBD and SEFA executives through ministerial addresses, technical sessions and exhibitions of township creative enterprises.
During the session, SEFA’s Acting CEO highlighted the prevalence of counterfeit goods within South Africa’s creative markets, paving the way for a focused dialogue on how piracy manifests, from illegal DVD distribution and unlicensed streaming to unauthorised re-packaging and distribution across informal platforms.
Panellists noted that these illicit practices not only strip filmmakers of income but also disrupt the value chain across licensing, exhibition, taxation and employment.
Township filmmakers, who already face significant challenges with funding and market access, are particularly vulnerable.
Representing MultiChoice, Tebogo Matlawa – who is the Head of Scripted Content for Middle and Mass SA – emphasized the impact of piracy on the livelihoods of creators.
“The way these pirates have been able to formalize themselves makes it difficult for some people to distinguish whether they are dealing with a legitimate aggregator of content or a pirated platform,” said Matlawa.
“This compromises the work and income of the original creators.”
The discussion underscored the importance of a multi-pronged industry response, including:
- Securing digital distribution pathways.
- Expanding training and capacity-building for township filmmakers.
- Strengthening collaboration between rights-owners, enforcement agencies and industry bodies on content takedowns and investigations.
Advocating for stronger intellectual property enforcement and clearer licensing frameworks for emerging producers.
Matlawa further stressed the significance of intellectual property rights protection by sharing that it is very important to advocate for the protection of IP rights.
Even if a creator is a junior filmmaker working under another producer, the originator of the work must retain the IP rights.
“We are working to grow the industry from this perspective” he said.
In attendance was Georginah Machiridza, the Executive Head of Integration and Programme Management at MultiChoice’s General Entertainment division.
She touched on how important it is to educate content consumers on the business of broadcasting to make them better understand piracy.
And as for creators, they should think of their content as a business to broadcasters, they should approach broadcasters when they already have IP rights to the films/ shows they have done.
The Heritage Month Dialogue also aligned with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund provincial engagements, highlighting efforts to support women-led creative enterprises in Limpopo through capacity building, IP awareness and access to markets.
Cultural performances and creative exhibitions reinforced the broader Heritage Month objective: to celebrate and protect cultural expression while transforming creativity into sustainable local economic opportunities.
Click here to learn more about the work MultiChoice is doing.
