TV Licence showdown in South Africa
After reporting that not even government departments were paying their TV Licences in South Africa, the presidency has issued a call for this to be rectified urgently.
Speaking to SABC News, Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for The Presidency, said the government should be enabling and funding the SABC, not working against it.
He added that the president wants the National Treasury to get involved with the matter and follow up with the departments to ensure that they pay.
“We want to have an SABC that remains viable and continues to serve the public. Therefore, it is important that the government enables the SABC to fulfil its duties,” he said.
The SABC’s presentation to parliament in October revealed that R35 million TV sets, which were owned by 2,490 government departments, remained unpaid.
The corporation is in dire straits, expecting to collect around R5 billion in TV licence fees, but only managing to bring in R726 million – a little under 15%.
This sharp decline in revenue is compounded by a loss of viewers and a corresponding decrease in advertising income. In response, the SABC has cut R162 million from its content creation budget over the past year.
Its 2023/2024 annual report revealed that the state broadcaster is technically insolvent.
South Africans don’t really care, though, with TV Licence avoidance levels increasing every year.
In 2019, the SABC reported levels of around 69%, but by 2024 this had reached 86%
With TV Licence fees being a clear dead-end for the broadcaster, the government is now turning to alternative methods to fund the group.
The SABC plans to abolish the TV licences and introduce a host of new levies as per new legislation, ie the SABC Bill.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Bill was introduced to Parliament in October 2023 and revived in July of this year, following the seventh administration’s swearing-in and the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The Bill does not include specific funding models—one of the biggest criticisms thrown at it by lawmakers—but instead states that the minister of communications and digital technologies will have to develop a model for funding the SABC “in three years.”
During oral hearings on the Bill before the Portfolio Committee on Digital Technologies and Communications, the SABC suggested introducing a device-independent levy—essentially a household levy based on the ability to access the SABC’s services without having a TV.
The SABC also suggested being the dominant subscription broadcaster levy, where a dominant subscription broadcaster, such as MultiChoice, can assist the SABC.
In this levy, the dominant subscription broadcaster can deny customers a service unless they pay their licences.
The SABC also suggested that it should be given access the Universal Service Fund (USAF), which is run by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa.
The USAF received funds from broadcasters and telcos who pay a fee based on their annual turnover for universal services of electronic communications network services.
The SABC noted that Section 88(1) of the Electronic Communications Act allows broadcasters access to a USAF subsidy for constructing or extending electronic communications network services in under-serviced areas.
The SABC said it could thus use the USAF to finance its underfinanced public service mandate.
Weekend reports pointed to the SABC Bill being withdrawn by the department, which could add even further delays to the broadcaster’s funding plans, extending its losses and financial troubles.
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