SABC wants South Africa’s analogue TV switch-off delayed — and the minister is having none of it
The SABC wants to delay the digital migration process as the rollout of decoder-like digital set-top-boxes has been too slow.
According to the SABC, it still supports the digital migration but highlighted that only 5.7% of households in the remaining provinces have had set-top boxes (STBs) installed.
Echoing the concerns of other free-to-air broadcasters, the SABC said a pre-mature switch-off would leave millions of South Africans without access to crucial public television services.
“The four provinces designated for switch off on 31 March 2022 comprise 68% of South Africa’s population,” the SABC wrote in a statement.
“As at February 2022, only 165,000 STBs out of the 2.9m indigent households (5.7%) had been installed in the four outstanding provinces.”
“This number is simply too low for the SABC’s analogue TV services to be switched off in the four largest provinces, at this stage,” it added.
Communications minister Kumbudzo Ntshavheni has proclaimed that all analogue transmitters be switched off by 31 March 2022.
The SABC reiterated its support for the digital migration process but said South Africans should not be left without access to free-to-air TV.
“The benefits of digital television are multiple. Among others, digital television will enhance the quality of our offerings, expand our competitive advantage, and empower the public with more content variety and choices.”
However, the SABC said an untimely migration threatens its turnaround plan, which aims to ensure its long-term financial sustainability and enable the broadcaster to fulfil its public mandate.
The broadcaster is hopeful that its engagements with Minister Ntshavheni will extend the analogue switch-off (ASO) timetable.
“The SABC believes that the extension of the ASO timetable will ensure that no South African is left behind or denied access to free-to-air television and public television services,” it said.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies
The SABC is not the only broadcaster pushing for a delay. E-tv had a court case against Ntshavheni that was heard on 14–15 March, where judgement was reserved.
Also earlier in March, several civil society organisations and Cape Town TV began campaigning against the communication department’s plan to switch off all analogue TV signals.
They claimed the switch-off would leave 14 million people without access to free-to-air TV. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) disputed this in a strongly-worded statement.
“These non-facts should be rejected with contempt as they seek to create unnecessary anxiety,” the DCDT stated.
Ntshavheni’s department issued a statement in response to the SABC on Monday, saying that the benefits of digital migration and ending dual illumination outweigh any inconvenience after the analogue switch-off.
“The set-top box (decoder) is not the only way to continue TV watching after the analogue switch-off,” it said.
“Major electronics companies like Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sinotec and AIM have introduced into the market approximately 2.5 million integrated digital television sets (IDTVs) with a built-in digital tuner since 2012.”
The department also provided a list of compatible TV sets. It explained that households with IDTVs, residing within a 30-50km radius of a city, would be able to access digital television without the need for an STB.
“This is because South Africa has a broad digital television coverage of up to 84% of the population,” the department added.
Ntshavheni has already overseen the switch-off of the last analogue transmitters in the Free State, Northern Cape, North West Province, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo.
South Africa’s digital migration has been continually delayed, with the country having missed its first analogue switch-off deadline over ten years ago.
South Africa initially set a deadline to switch to digital terrestrial television by 2011 and agreed to an International Telecommunications Union deadline of 17 June 2015.
The South African government missed both of these deadlines and every other revised deadline along the way.
Loading ...