South Africa should kiss SABC TV licences goodbye

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) plans to replace TV licences in South Africa with a new funding model.

Communications minister Solly Malatsi explained that he is revising the SABC’s funding model to ensure its sustainability while the SABC Bill is developed.

He explained that the previous Bill he withdrew did not address the cash-strapped broadcaster’s funding model.

The state broadcaster has been struggling for years with financial instability, declining revenue, and mounting losses.

The SABC’s latest financial report revealed that it is technically insolvent and uncertain about its ability to meet its financial obligations for the next year.

It explained that its audience share has been impacted by the migration of audiences to global streaming platforms.

South Africans who migrate to streaming services watch the service on all types of screens and do not want to pay for TV licences.

“As audiences migrate to consuming content across a range of screens other than television screens, the relevance of this license fee continues to be questioned,” it said.

TV licence evasion rate increased from 69% in 2019 to an all-time low of 86% in 2024, which shows that South Africans refuse to pay this fee.

SABC chairman Khathutshelo Ramukumba said people do not pay their TV licenses because there are no consequences.

“If people do not pay their TV licence, we can do nothing to them. Therefore, only those who are patriotic pay their fees,” he said.

Not paying for TV licences has become so commonplace that many government departments do not pay for this fee.

Ramukumba shared the view that the SABC must find a competitive and sustainable business model, which includes a different funding model.

“There has to be a discussion about funding the public service mandate through state finances or other means,” he said.

William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, supported Malatsi’s calls for a sustainable funding model.

He said South Africa needs a public broadcaster and that the news and journalism fulfils a public good.

“Journalism is the new version of healthcare, education, roads, infrastructure, water, and sanitation,” he told The Money Show.

Considering the state broadcaster’s importance, Bird said it needs to be funded. He said future funding would most likely come from a public-commercial model.

Bird said the stakeholders are looking at a public interest content levy to create a more sustainable model.

“This is a fee which will be levied on devices, and other entities will be asked to help with the collections,” he said.

He admitted that the public and businesses would resist paying a levy on devices to fund the mismanaged SABC.

However, should the country want credible and reliable information, it must fund journalism, including a public service broadcaster.

“The money must come from somewhere. I am not quite sure what that will look like,” Bird said. He argues that it can be done in a reasonable way and raise a lot of money.

He added that the money raised by the spectrum action should have gone to a public interest content fund instead of the telecoms regulator.

“When you sell public assets, the money should not disappear into the fiscus. It should fund journalism and programming, which nobody else will make.”