- The South African public broadcaster SABC has fired its chief operating officer Ian Plaatjes and head of video entertainment Merlin Naicker.
- Both executives were found guilty of failing to disclose that the company running the SABC+ streaming service would receive an advertising revenue kickback.
- An investigation revealed a secret profit-sharing agreement between Plaatjes, Naicker, and Discover Digital.
- The SABC projected that SABC+ would generate significant advertising revenue, a portion of which was undisclosed to the company’s former CEO.
- The decision to terminate the executives’ contracts followed disciplinary hearings and recommendations from an independent chairperson.
The SABC has fired its chief operating officer Ian Plaatjes and head of video entertainment Merlin Naicker after they were found guilty of hiding a profit-sharing agreement with the company managing the broadcaster’s streaming service, SABC+.
SABC ad revenue scandal culminates in high-level firings
The scandal began when Ian Plaatjes and Merlin Naicker were suspended in February 2024 following revelations about Discover Digital, the company running the SABC+ streaming platform.
It was discovered that Discover Digital was receiving an additional 7.5% of the advertising revenue generated by SABC+, contrary to what was initially presented to the SABC executive committee.
In November 2022, Plaatjes and Naicker assured the SABC that the broadcaster would receive 100% of the advertising revenue from SABC+.
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However, an investigation later found that they had deliberately failed to disclose the 7.5% kickback to Discover Digital.
This payment was on top of the R35 million already paid to Discover Digital to manage the streaming service.
The hidden profit-sharing agreement came to light, revealing that Plaatjes and Naicker had signed it without informing the then-SABC CEO Madoda Mxakwe.
This agreement was particularly significant given that the SABC projected SABC+ to generate between R150 million and R200 million annually in advertising revenue.
SABC+ is a streaming platform acquired from Telkom and rebranded after the public broadcaster took over Telkom’s streaming service, Telkom ONE.
Following the disciplinary hearings, the SABC board resolved to terminate the employment contracts of both executives. Mmoni Seapolelo, the SABC spokesperson, confirmed the decision to the media, stating,
“The SABC board of directors has resolved to terminate the employment contract of Ian Plaatjes following a disciplinary process. The board has duly considered the findings and recommendations of the report by an independent chairperson and decided to release Ian Plaatjes from his duties as the SABC’s chief operating officer (COO) with immediate effect.”
Seapolelo added:
“The SABC can also confirm that Merlin Naicker, the group executive for video entertainment, is also released from his duties with immediate effect following a disciplinary hearing.”
