Botswana’s public broadcaster has removed a long-standing requirement that all television and radio commercials aired on its platforms be produced locally, following sustained lobbying from regional media stakeholders.
Barriers to advertising
Marnox Media, which has been engaging the broadcaster on the issue for several years, said the rule had created barriers for multinational and South African advertisers seeking to access the Botswana market. The company worked with strategy expert Peter Langschmidt to present a case to the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS), arguing that the country’s relatively small economy made it difficult to justify the cost of producing Botswana-specific advertising content.
According to Marnox Media’s Mark Knocker, the submission highlighted that Botswana’s GDP is significantly smaller than that of South Africa, limiting the commercial viability of bespoke production for the market.
Local production
DBS has now agreed to remove the requirement with immediate effect, allowing advertisers to flight existing campaigns on the broadcaster’s platforms without the need for local production.
The move is expected to simplify market entry for brands targeting Botswana audiences. Chris Botha, managing director of Park Advertising, said the change would make it easier for clients to extend their current advertising material to Botswana’s main commercial stations.
In a related development, DBS has appointed Gaborone-based Venture Bliss as its sales representative. Venture Bliss, led by Diks Ketlogetswe, has in turn appointed Marnox Media to represent Botswana Television (BTV) and Radio Botswana 2 (RB2) across South Africa, Kenya and other African markets.
