Massive growth for SABC+ streaming service — with new paid features planned

The SABC’s free streaming service has grown to over 1 million users, an impressive increase of 67% in half a year, and plans to add new features by the end of the month.

The public broadcaster’s acting executive for corporate affairs and marketing, Mmoni Seapolelo, told MyBroadband it was happy with the performance of the SABC+ platform since its launch in November 2022.

SABC+ allows users to stream all the public broadcaster’s free-to-air live TV and radio channels via the web, Android and iOS mobile apps.

It also boasts a selection of “catchup “content for viewing after the first TV broadcasts.

Initially, the service was simply a rebadged TelkomOne, a streaming service rolled out by the telecoms company two years earlier.

However, the platform was revamped and relaunched in December 2023 with a new design and a handful of improvements.

The most obvious change was that an account with an associated email or cellphone number was no longer required to use the service.

In addition, the maximum streaming quality was increased from 720p to 1080p, while the overall interface was streamlined to be less cluttered.

A TV Guide with schedules was also added, similar to what’s available on DStv Stream.

SABC+ Home page with Catchup content

Seapolelo told MyBroadband that the app will get more “exciting” feature additions for a better user experience at the end of May 2024.

This includes bringing back the ability to register an account.

MyBroadband asked whether the new registration system would require a paid-up TV licence.

This would be similar to how the BBC’s iPlayer service works. Alongside South Africa, the UK is one of only a handful of countries that requires TV licences for households.

The SABC’s current TV licence compliance rate is at a dismal 13%, with many households simply ignoring demands to pay their fees.

Requiring a paid-up TV licence to access the streaming service could be a way to boost compliance.

Seapolelo said the main SABC+ service would “always” be free, but other services to be announced in the near future might not be.

However, Seapolelo clarified that this would not require a paid-up TV licence, suggesting the broadcaster will offer alternative payment methods.

Seapolelo also said SABC+ apps were in the pipeline for more TV-based operating systems, including Android TV and Samsung’s Tizen OS.

“All features will be revealed soon,” Seapolelo said.

400,000 new users in six months

In November 2023, the SABC+ app had reached 600,000 sign-ups using the old compulsory registration system.

According to Google Analytics data tracked by the SABC, the newer account-free version currently has over 1 million monthly active users.

“The app has seen substantial growth,” Seapolelo said.

The broadcaster also shared more about the most-watched programming on the service.

It includes many of the same shows that are popular on the SABC’s TV broadcasting service, including soaps like Uzalo, Skeem Saam, Generations, and Muvhango, and football tournaments such as the CAF Champions League and Premier League.

The broadcaster said it has attracted interest as one of the go-to platforms in the market for major sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup 2023 and the Afcon 2023 Tournament.

The latter drew the highest number of simultaneous viewers to the SABC+ — 1.2 million — in February 2024.