South African analogue TV switch-off warning

The SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition has warned that switching off remaining analogue TV signals could spell disaster for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and other free-to-air broadcasters.

Speaking to 702, SOS Coalition national coordinator Uyanda Siyotula said the public broadcaster lost roughly 40% of its audience after switching off analogue TV signals in five of South Africa’s provinces.

“If we’re looking at the big provinces, it’s going to lose more than 60%,” Siyotula said.

She added that the SABC is already facing a significant financial sustainability problem, and the switch-off will likely put it under more pressure.

Siyotula added that community and other free-to-air broadcasters will also suffer due to the switch-off.

“It’s not only going to affect SABC, it’s going to affect community broadcasters, it’s going to affect E-TV, and it’s going to affect the free-to-air industry at large,” she said.

She explained that while the SOS Coalition supports digital transformation in South Africa, it doesn’t agree with the government’s approach to the broadcast digital migration.

“It will leave more than four million people without access to television,” said Siyotula.

“We see that as an infringement to the right to access to access information, as well as infringement for the right of freedom of expression.”

“Otherwise, we really want this digital transformation, but we want it to be done in a proper way that includes everyone and leaves no one behind,” she added.

eMedia CEO Khalik Sheriff shares this view. While he acknowledged that analogue TV signals must eventually be eliminated, he said more than 4.3 million households rely on them for information.

“As a business, we understand that analogue must go someday. In fact, it must go as soon as it can,” said Sherrif

“Unfortunately, in South Africa, there are more than four million households that still receive analogue broadcasting.”

“Some of them will require state assistance. Some of them will probably end up digitally migrating themselves,” he added.

Sherrif agrees that it would be unreasonable to expect all of these households to be successfully migrated, adding that eMedia would be happy to switch off its analogue signals if the government could reduce this figure to around one million households.

“When you move all these people across, and we’re happy to switch off. Then it is worth our while as a business that relies on that market,” he said.

“We are free-to-air. These are the people who loyally look at what we do. They are our customers. They are the people that make up our numbers.”

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has set a final analogue TV switch-off deadline for 31 December 2024.

“The announcement of 31 December 2024 as the analogue switch-off date is premature as it will deny these millions access to television,” eMedia said in response to its announcement.

SABC in deep trouble

The SABC expects to report a R590 million loss for the current financial year, and while this is a noticeable improvement over the R1.13-billion loss it reported in 2022/23, the powers that be are calling for a rework of its funding model.

Despite the challenges, the public broadcaster is confident it will reach profitability again by March 2028.

“The SABC has a commercial strategy and corporate plan geared towards the financial recovery of the entity,” it said.

“Our key priority initiatives to protect current revenues and drive sustained growth are subject to funding.”

The broadcaster said it plans to reduce its R590 million loss expected for the current financial year to a R243 million loss in the 2025 financial year.

This came after the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies said it fully supports changing the SABC’s funding model.

“There’s a request to you from the members: give us the options. Give us something to work with. We’re in the process of looking at the bill to see if there are legislative requirements that need to be effected,” said committee chair Khusela Sangoni.

SABC head of policy and regulatory affairs, Philly Moilwa, recently presented one such option to parliament: a household levy that must be paid regardless of whether household occupants actually use the broadcaster’s services.

He identified the South African Revenue Service and DStv owner MultiChoice as the organisations that should be responsible for collecting the fees.

The latter would do so by factoring the fees into its subscription pricing.

MultiChoice has opposed proposals designating South Africa’s leading pay-TV operator as a revenue-collecting agent for the SABC, saying it was unprecedented and unworkable.