SABC in deep trouble

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) expects to report a R590 million loss for the current financial year, representing an improvement over the R1 billion loss it reported last year.

Despite the improvement, the Portfolio Committee for Communications and Digital Technologies continued to call for changes to the SABC’s funding model.

In documents presented to the Portfolio Committee, the SABC noted that its current budget reflects “an SABC in financial distress”.

However, in a statement, the committee congratulated the public broadcaster on its significant progress in implementing its performance and turnaround strategy.

“The committee has noted a projection of reduced financial loss from R1.1 billion incurred in the 2023/24 financial year to R500 million by the end of the current financial year,” it said.

However, according to a report from Thinus Ferreira, the loss figure is closer to R590 million, and the broadcaster is losing money on SABC2, SABC3, SABC Sport, SABC News, and some SABC radio channels.

The public broadcaster has reported annual losses since 2014/15, and one of its major challenges is generating revenue through the TV licence scheme.

For many years, most TV licence holders have avoided paying their TV licence fees, with the evasion rate climbing to 85.8% in 2022/23.

The SABC’s reported TV licence delinquency rates between 2018 and 2022 were as follows:

• 2018: 72%
• 2019: 69%
• 2020: 81%
• 2021: 82% (82.1%)
• 2022: 82% (81.7%)

This has a significant impact on the SABC’s financial situation. Of the R4.65 billion billed for TV licences in 2023, the public broadcaster only collected R741.2 million.

Moreover, historical TV licence debt had climbed to R44.2 billion by the end of the SABC’s 2023 financial year.

While several proposals to rework the SABC’s funding model have been in the spotlight, the broadcaster and government have yet to decide how to proceed.

Khusela Sangoni, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, said she fully supports reworking the SABC’s funding model.

“There’s a request to you from the members: give us the options. Give us something to work with. We’re in the process of looking at the bill to see if there are legislative requirements that need to be effected,” she said during the meeting.

The bill to which she referred is the recently published draft SABC bill, which, if anything, shows that the government is in no rush to fix the broadcaster’s funding model.

It proposes that an alternative funding model framework only be finalised within three years of the legislation being passed.

Regarding funding model proposals, the SABC controversially proposed requiring a TV licence for all devices that can access its services, including Internet-connected products like smartphones, tablets, and laptops, in 2020.

Some have also proposed implementing a household levy to fund the SABC. In recent feedback to MyBroadband, the broadcaster reaffirmed its support for the household broadcasting levy.

It had previously suggested that the dominant pay-TV broadcaster and streaming service collect these fees on its behalf. The biggest players in this market are MultiChoice and Netflix.

However, it has now changed its stance on collection.

“The SABC supports the proposal for a public media levy. However, it must be noted that no collection method or agency can be considered until the regulations are known,” it told MyBroadband.

High hopes for SABC+

The public broadcaster had high hopes for its free-to-use streaming service SABC+, which it notes that it has yet to monetise.

It anticipates that the streaming service will accumulate over half a million users by the end of the financial year.

SABC+ recently underwent its second revamp since it launched in July 2024, after undergoing a redesign just seven months earlier.

The public broadcaster said the latest revamp added several new features and enhancements, including support for Apple TV, Google TV, and LG Smart TVs. It said an app for Android media boxes will be made available at a later stage.

SABC Group CEO Nomsa Chabeli said the new platform reinforced the broadcaster’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity.

“SABC Plus is our latest innovation, reinforcing the public broadcaster’s commitment to providing the best programming,” added Chabeli.

“This platform houses an impressive array of content, including groundbreaking comedies, spine-chilling horrors, and captivating dramas, reflecting the rich cultural tapestry of our nation.”