Expensive TV migration problem in South Africa

One of the significant challenges South Africa faces regarding delaying the broadcast digital migration (BDM) deadline is the cost associated with simultaneously operating analogue and digital signals.

Known as dual illumination, running both signals concurrently has cost South Africa roughly R1.23 billion over the past ten financial years. Moreover, no funding has been allocated for dual illumination for the 2024/25 financial year.

This was revealed during a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies on Tuesday, 19 November 2024.

“The department and USAASA requested National Treasury to approve a reprioritisation of R140 million from USAF funds to cover the dual illumination shortfall for 2024/25,” the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) said in its presentation.

The current deadline for switching off analogue TV signals, 31 December 2024, is up for debate.

Free-to-air broadcasters like the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), E-tv, and community broadcasters risk losing audience numbers when this date hits if many of their customers haven’t migrated yet.

The plan is to switch off 195 analogue transmitters by 31 December 2024, of which 21 were switched off by 31 October 2024.

According to the DCDT, roughly 469,000 households in South Africa have yet to install the required set-top box (STB) to receive digital broadcast signals.

However, it highlighted a challenge with rolling out STBs to these homes: many of them have missing details or incomplete physical addresses, making it difficult for the department to locate them.

“Data integrity issues have negatively impacted the rate of decoder installations towards achieving a minimum of the 90% threshold needed to secure authorisation from broadcasters,” it said.

Free-to-air broadcasters like eMedia have voiced their displeasure with the 31 December 2024 deadline, saying that more South Africans must be migrated before the signals are switched off.

However, this means the government must continue paying dual illumination costs until the country’s analogue TV signals are switched off completely.

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies provided a breakdown of dual illumination costs over the past 10 years.

Analogue switch-off warning for South Africa

In early October 2024, the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Corporation warned that the current deadline could be disastrous for the SABC, which is already struggling financially.

SOS Coalition national coordinator Uyanda Siyotula said the public broadcaster stands to lose a significant portion of its audience.

She noted that it had already lost roughly 40% of its audience when South Africa switched off analogue TV signals in five provinces.

“If we’re looking at the big provinces, it’s going to lose more than 60%,” Siyotula said.

However, she added that community and other free-to-air broadcasters like eMedia will also suffer.

“It’s not only going to affect SABC, it’s going to affect community broadcasters, it’s going to affect E-TV, and it’s going to affect the free-to-air industry at large,” she said.

While the SOS Coalition supports the BDM project, Siyotula said it disagrees with the government’s approach.

“It will leave more than four million people without access to television,” said Siyotula.

“We see that as an infringement to the right to access to access information, as well as infringement for the right of freedom of expression.”

eMedia CEO Khalik Sheriff agreed. He acknowledged that analogue TV signals must eventually be eliminated but said roughly 4.3 million households still rely on them for critical information.

He said eMedia would be happy to switch off analogue TV signals if the number of households was reduced to around one million.

“When you move all these people across, and we’re happy to switch off. Then it is worth our while as a business that relies on that market,” said Sheriff.