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The Herald
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald
Podcasters push back on tougher rules amid hate speech uproar
The podcasting industry is facing renewed scrutiny after recent high-profile controversies sparked debate about the need for stronger regulation in the sector. Director of member affairs at the South African Podcasters Guild (SAPG) Diego Domingo said the actions of a small minority of creators should not lead to restrictions that compromise free expression. 'We can't negate the right to freedom of speech because less than 1% of podcasters are causing an issue. We advocate strongly for free speech, but within the context of the law,' said Domingo. Several incidents have intensified calls for reform, including recent public outrage over racist remarks about the coloured community on the Open Chats Podcast and television personality Minnie Dlamini's decision to open a defamation case against podcaster MacG. Domingo said many creators believe existing laws on hate speech, defamation and harmful content are sufficient, making podcast-specific regulations unnecessary. Founded to foster community, accountability and growth within the local industry, SAPG has more than 400 registered members. Head of industry relations Paulo Dias said the guild supports creators through training programmes focused on civic engagement, diversity and gender equality. 'SAPG has introduced a formal pledge that members must sign, committing to ethical content creation and rejecting hate speech and discrimination,' said Dias. The guild is active in initiatives such as Podcasthon, the SA Podcast Awards and cross-continental networks and is exploring partnerships with the Press Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa to establish effective complaint mechanisms. Dias emphasised that while regulation can help address hate speech and misinformation, it must be designed carefully to avoid stifling creativity or disproportionately burdening independent creators. 'Regulation that is overly punitive or vague could deter independent creators and limit the diversity of voices in the space. Larger companies may absorb regulatory costs more easily, but smaller podcasters often lack legal teams or compliance infrastructure,' he said. Dias said the SAPG has begun engaging with policymakers to shape a balanced framework, including contributing to a draft white paper from the department of communications and digital technologies on online safety and digital media services. Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies Khusela Diko told eNCA the drive for updated regulation stems from outdated broadcasting laws, not individual incidents. The long-delayed Audio and Audiovisual Content Services policy aims to modernise broadcasting regulations so digital platforms, including podcasts on services such as YouTube, meet requirements similar to those for traditional broadcasters. Under the Broadcasting Act only community, commercial and public broadcasters are covered, leaving much of the online content space outside its scope. Dias encouraged podcasters to take proactive steps to maintain industry standards. 'We urge more podcasters to join SAPG and sign the pledge to uphold ethical standards. Use the resources on our website for training and guidelines. Balance entertainment with responsibility, especially in sensitive cultural contexts, and engagement with your audience feedback is essential for accountability.' TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Podcasters push back on tougher rules amid hate speech uproar
The podcasting industry is facing renewed scrutiny after recent high-profile controversies sparked debate about the need for stronger regulation in the sector. Director of member affairs at the South African Podcasters Guild (SAPG) Diego Domingo said the actions of a small minority of creators should not lead to restrictions that compromise free expression. 'We can't negate the right to freedom of speech because less than 1% of podcasters are causing an issue. We advocate strongly for free speech, but within the context of the law,' said Domingo. Several incidents have intensified calls for reform, including recent public outrage over racist remarks about the coloured community on the Open Chats Podcast and television personality Minnie Dlamini's decision to open a defamation case against podcaster MacG. Domingo said many creators believe existing laws on hate speech, defamation and harmful content are sufficient, making podcast-specific regulations unnecessary. Founded to foster community, accountability and growth within the local industry, SAPG has more than 400 registered members. Head of industry relations Paulo Dias said the guild supports creators through training programmes focused on civic engagement, diversity and gender equality. 'SAPG has introduced a formal pledge that members must sign, committing to ethical content creation and rejecting hate speech and discrimination,' said Dias. The guild is active in initiatives such as Podcasthon, the SA Podcast Awards and cross-continental networks and is exploring partnerships with the Press Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa to establish effective complaint mechanisms. Dias emphasised that while regulation can help address hate speech and misinformation, it must be designed carefully to avoid stifling creativity or disproportionately burdening independent creators. 'Regulation that is overly punitive or vague could deter independent creators and limit the diversity of voices in the space. Larger companies may absorb regulatory costs more easily, but smaller podcasters often lack legal teams or compliance infrastructure,' he said. Dias said the SAPG has begun engaging with policymakers to shape a balanced framework, including contributing to a draft white paper from the department of communications and digital technologies on online safety and digital media services. Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies Khusela Diko told eNCA the drive for updated regulation stems from outdated broadcasting laws, not individual incidents. The long-delayed Audio and Audiovisual Content Services policy aims to modernise broadcasting regulations so digital platforms, including podcasts on services such as YouTube, meet requirements similar to those for traditional broadcasters. Under the Broadcasting Act only community, commercial and public broadcasters are covered, leaving much of the online content space outside its scope. Dias encouraged podcasters to take proactive steps to maintain industry standards. 'We urge more podcasters to join SAPG and sign the pledge to uphold ethical standards. Use the resources on our website for training and guidelines. Balance entertainment with responsibility, especially in sensitive cultural contexts, and engagement with your audience feedback is essential for accountability.'
Reuters
23-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
SAP shares drop after it maintains outlook despite strong quarter
BERLIN, July 23 (Reuters) - Shares in SAP ( opens new tab fell on Wednesday after the German software maker reported higher quarterly sales and earnings but held off on increasing full-year targets, which some investors had expected. SAP shares were down by 3.9% at 0730 GMT, after the company late on Tuesday reported higher sales, profitability and free cash flow in the second quarter, but maintained its outlook, citing "elevated levels of uncertainty and reduced visibility". "As we move into the second half, we remain cautiously optimistic, keeping a close eye on geopolitical developments and public sector trends," finance chief Dominik Asam said in the quarterly report. SAP still forecasts full-year operating profit in the range of 10.3 billion to 10.6 billion euros ($12.44 billion), compared to 8.15 billion a year ago. Deutsche Bank analysts said the reiterated targets left a margin for error as uncertainty surrounding Washington's tariffs slows decision-making among U.S. customers. For the second quarter, SAP reported an 83% year-on-year jump in its free cash flow, used to determine dividends to investors, to 2.36 billion euros, exceeding market expectations by about a billion. Operating profit rose by around a third to 2.57 billion euros, boosted by the company's 2024 restructuring programme, which it concluded in the first quarter. SAP announced the 2-billion-euro pivot towards artificial intelligence last year, either retraining employees or replacing them through voluntary redundancies. But some traders said results were still driven by SAP's old licences business. "The future cloud biz lagged expectations, giving the report a sour tone. Also, the outlook was just confirmed sending a somewhat cautious note," one local trader said.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Piper Sandler starts at SAP at Buy, highlights 'multiple tailwinds beyond 2030'
-- Piper Sandler initiated coverage on SAP (NYSE:SAP) (ETR:SAPG) stock with an Overweight rating and a price target of €350, citing "multiple tailwinds [that] extend beyond 2030.' The brokerage sees SAP's ongoing cloud transformation as the primary catalyst for both earnings and valuation multiple expansion. According to Piper Sandler, SAP's Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) business has grown into a €17 billion run-rate with 34% year-over-year growth and is on track to surpass 50% of total revenue mix for the first time this year. "This cloud mix shift positions SAP to sustain double-digit revenue growth alongside improving margins that could compound free cash flow (FCF) at 15-20% annually through 2030+," analysts led by Brent A. Bracelin wrote. They highlight several growth drivers behind the bullish stance. The first is the large opportunity from ERP customers still running on older on-premise systems. About 60% of SAP's installed ERP base has yet to convert to cloud-based ERP software suite S/4HANA, representing a potential €28 billion uplift to the existing Cloud ERP segment. The analysts note that the end of ERP Central Component (ECC) support in 2027, extended to 2030 in some cases, combined with AI-driven data needs, is encouraging enterprises to transition their core back-office systems to the cloud. The team also sees significant upside from SAP's ability to cross-sell additional products across its customer base. "Customers with 4+ products more than doubled to 23% from 9% in 2021," they said, adding that roughly 77% of the installed base still uses fewer than four cloud solutions, providing ample room for further expansion. SAP's push into smaller enterprises offers another avenue for growth. New go-to-market initiatives in 2025 are expected to open access to 400,000 partner-assigned accounts in the mid-market segment. Furthermore, Piper Sandler points out SAP's progress in data and AI monetization through its Business Data Cloud (BDC), supported by partnerships with Databricks, Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), and others. The broker estimates BDC could "quickly grow into an incremental €1B data/AI unlock within two years, helping boost top-line growth by 1% point." Despite having underperformed the broader software sector over the past two decades, SAP has outperformed in the last two years, driven by the Cloud ERP shift. Piper Sandler believes there is still room for valuation multiple expansion. The software giant's next twelve months enterprise value-to-sales (EV/S) multiple has expanded to 8.2 times (compared to 4.7 times), 'but still has room to run, in our view, relative to what occurred at its two closest peers.' Related articles Piper Sandler starts at SAP at Buy, highlights 'multiple tailwinds beyond 2030' Wolfe stays defensive but sees AI spending supporting growth stocks Roku upgraded as ad tie-up with Amazon to boost its 2026 earnings Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
