Goodbye TV licence — big-screen monitors and projectors to replace your TV

The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) must urgently rework its funding model to move away from the TV licence scheme. However, until the new funding model is launched, the law requires a valid TV licence to buy a TV.

However, there are loopholes, including large-screen monitors and projectors that don’t have built-in TV tuners and, therefore, don’t require a TV licence.

Section 27 of the Broadcasting Act mandates the payment of TV licence fees. It specifies that punishment for failing to pay the fees can result in a fine not exceeding R500, imprisonment not exceeding six months, or a combination of the two.

Fortunately for many South Africans, these punishments aren’t strictly enforced, and their threat hasn’t deterred TV licence holders from avoiding payment.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) previously told MyBroadband that taking non-paying TV licence holders to court would be expensive and, ultimately, not worth it for the public broadcaster.

TV licence avoidance rates have risen significantly since 2019, when around 69% of holders failed to pay their TV licence fees.

According to the broadcaster’s results for 2023/24, the TV licence avoidance rate reached 86% in the financial year. This meant the SABC lost roughly R4.3 billion in revenue in the financial year.

Despite the lack of punishment, non-paying customers are often spammed with SMSes from the SABC’s debt collectors demanding payment.

MyBroadband looked for big-screen monitors and projectors that South Africans can buy without paying for a TV licence.

Regarding large-screen monitors, we only included options sized 34 inches or larger and excluded curved monitors from the equation.

We found several options sized 34 inches and larger. These include various monitors from LG, AOC, MSI, and Mecer.

Takealot sells a 43-inch 1080p LED Mecer monitor for R6,881. While it may look very similar to a typical flatscreen TV, the listing emphasises that it does not feature a TV tuner, meaning it doesn’t require a TV licence.

We included three 34-inch monitors, two of which come from LG. Wootware sells the 34-inch LG 34WQ650-W monitor with a 100Hz refresh rate for R7,538. It features a 2,560 x 1,080-pixel ultrawide resolution.

For R11 more, South Africans can get the 34-inch LG 34WN650 with a 75Hz refresh rate from Titan-Ice. It offers a similar ultrawide resolution to the 100Hz model.

The third 34-inch monitor is AOC-branded. Titan-Ice sells the AOC CU34G3S 75Hz 1080p monitor for R8,249.

In addition to the 43-inch monitor, Mecer offers larger LED monitors that don’t require a TV licence. These larger models all offer a 4K maximum resolution.

Takealot sells the 65-inch model for R16,934, the 75-inch model for R21,423, and the 86-inch model for R33,151.

Regarding projector alternatives, we avoided non-branded projectors and only included models with at least a 1080p resolution.

The most affordable option listed is the Ultra Link 4,800-lumen Smart Projector for R5,999 from Makro. The projector offers a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution and a projection distance between 1.5 and five metres.

For R1,000 more, South Africans can get the Yaber Pro US Home Theatre Projector from Takealot. The projector offers a native 1080p resolution and supports 4K with upscaling.

It also features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support and a 1.6 to 10-metre projection distance.

Other notable options include the Acer 4,500-lumen Wireless Projector for R8,395, the 2nd-generation Samsung Freestyle projector for R9,999, and the Xiaomi Mi Projector for R10,699, all from Takealot.

The table below lists various big-screen monitors and home projectors that you can buy in South Africa without a TV licence.