{"id":794247,"date":"2024-10-07T21:19:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T19:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=794247"},"modified":"2024-10-07T21:25:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T19:25:16","slug":"south-africas-state-broadcaster-is-technically-insolvent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/794247\/south-africas-state-broadcaster-is-technically-insolvent\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa’s state broadcaster is technically insolvent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African Broadcasting Corporation\u2019s (SABC\u2019s) latest annual report revealed that the state-owned enterprise is technically insolvent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SABC tabled its 2023\/24 annual report in Parliament, revealing that it suffered a loss before interest and tax of R192 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state broadcaster said it had reported negative equity in its Statement of Financial Position as of 31 March 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means it is technically insolvent and cannot settle all its liabilities if all its assets are liquidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SABC\u2019s chief financial officer Yolande van Biljon said it remains a \u201cmaterial uncertainty\u201d whether they will be able to meet their obligations in the next twelve months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will require the ongoing implementation of severe austerity measures at the state-owned enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These measures include the suspension of more than 80% of the long-term capital plan and a limitation of investment in content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt must be noted that virtually no funding is currently available for any capital investment in innovation, infrastructure and technology,\u201d the SABC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SABC explained that its audience share has been impacted by the migration of audiences to global streaming platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA decline in audience share from a high of 46% in FY2016 continues to negatively impact the SABC\u2019s ability to grow its revenue streams,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is illustrated by the R2 billion decline in revenue since FY2016, whilst revenue year on year has remained mostly flat since FY2021.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SABC also experienced a significant decline in TV license fee revenue. This continues the downward trajectory despite numerous initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs audiences migrate to consuming content across a range of screens other than television screens, the relevance of this form of license fee continues to be questioned,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levels of license fee non-compliance have continued to decline as households afford it a low priority in times of economic hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that compliance cannot be enforced, which caused the non-compliance rate to increase to 85.60% in FY2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGoing forward, focused attention will continue to be directed towards new equitable financial models for funding the SABC\u2019s public interest mandate,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broadcaster added that securing government funding to fulfil its mandate remains an important priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite its dismal financial state, the SABC highlighted many of the positive aspects of its latest financial results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include a 7% increase in advertising revenue, a 4% decrease in operating expenses, and a 77% decrease in its loss before interest and tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite financial sustainability challenges, the corporation executed its mandate diligently and passionately,\u201d Van Biljon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SABC has also achieved its first unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor General of South Africa since 2009\/2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAchieving an unqualified opinion, a first in 14 years, reflects the strategic journey the SABC has undertaken to strengthen its internal control environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Biljon added that they have focussed on their compliance with legislation, expenditure management, governance, and oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli also highlighted positives, including their election coverage and the relaunch of the SABC+ streaming platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe SABC is an iconic broadcast media asset in South Africa, with the largest audience and geographic reach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to be South Africa\u2019s most trusted media brand as we entertain, educate, inform, and empower our audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The South African Broadcasting Corporation\u2019s (SABC\u2019s) latest annual report revealed that the state-owned enterprise is technically insolvent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":729897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[20641,667,8534,20640],"class_list":["post-794247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-nomsa-chabeli","tag-sabc","tag-south-african-broadcasting-corporation-sabc","tag-yolande-van-biljon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794247"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794251,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794247\/revisions\/794251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}