Analogue TV switch-off delayed in South Africa

Communications minister Solly Malatsi has announced that he has secured cabinet’s support to delay South Africa’s analogue television switch-off from 31 December 2024 to 31 March 2025.

“This extension will ensure that as many indigent households as possible will enjoy their right to access broadcast services,” Malatsi stated.

Free-to-air broadcasters like E-tv and the SABC previously estimated that millions of impoverished households would be left behind if the analogue signal were switched off today.

However, Malatsi said their estimates place the number of indigent households that still need to get a digital TV set-top box (STB) at 467,000.

These STBs convert the new digital TV signal into a format that older television sets can display.

Malatsi said his ministry has communicated the decision to extend the deadline to broadcasters and other relevant stakeholders in a meeting today, and committed to continue working with them on this project.

“Their commitment to ensuring that the free-to-air households migrate is critical to the success of this programme,” he said.

“The postponement of the analogue switch-off deadline recognises the considerable delays that have plagued the Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) project since its inception,” Malatsi continued.

He added that the delay provides the necessary relief that gives more time to migrate as many South African as possible before the final switch off.

“To this end, the Government will continue to subsidize indigent households,” said Malatsi.

“To avert further delays and ensure efficient delivery, I have directed the Director-General to implement consequence management for any individuals responsible for failures within the Department.”

Malatsi said there was no denying that the Broadcasting Digital Migration project has dragged on for far too long.

He reiterated that, over the past decade, it has cost the government R1.23 billion just for dual illumination — transmitting analogue and digital signals simultaneously.

“This process is costly and cannot be sustained indefinitely. More so, at a time when the fiscus is under extreme pressure,” stated Malatsi.

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies recently informed its Parliamentary Portfolio Committee that no further funding had been allocated for dual illumination for the 2024/25 financial year.

“Our immediate focus between now and the end of March 2025 is to aggressively accelerate the delivery and installation of set-top boxes to indigent households to ensure that as many households as possible are prepared for the switch-off,” said Malatsi.

“Broadcasters are key stakeholders in this and will be instrumental in raising awareness to ensure that the rest of the free-to-air households have access to the necessary device to receive digital broadcasting signals.”

Malatsi appealed to all South Africans to help ensure that all households still relying on analogue TV transmissions are migrated.

“We all have a role to play to ensure that the country transitions towards digital broadcasting for better services, wider content and entertainment,” the minister said.

The table below summarises all the deadlines for the digital migration programme, whether they were delivered or missed, and which ministers had served in the relevant periods.