SABC channels offline after explosion knocks out power
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has experienced a disruption in transmission affecting some of its broadcasting services.
In a statement on Wednesday, the SABC explained the disruption was caused by a prolonged power outage in and around the Auckland Park area, since the morning of Sunday, 8 November 2026.
The broadcaster had been operating on power from a generator, but the extended use and reliance on the backup source had impacted its ability to maintain normal transmission operations.
“On 10 November 2026, City Power communicated that the restoration period could not be confirmed following a secondary explosion,” it said.
“SABC’s technical teams are working around the clock to minimise interruptions and restore affected services as quickly as possible.”
MyBroadband tried to view live channels on the SABC+ streaming platform and found that SABC 2 and S3 were frozen on a single frame.
Other channels — including SABC 1, SABC Sport, and SABC News — and radio stations appeared to be working as normal.
The SABC said it was also engaging other stakeholders to monitor developments and implement appropriate mitigating measures.
“The SABC sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused to audiences and stakeholders,” the broadcaster said.
Frustrated viewers have reported issues accessing the streaming service on social media. One user claimed that the SABC+ hasn’t worked since Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
“I gave you grace, thinking you’re doing some updates or maintenance. Today (11/11/2026), it’s still not working. I can’t even get my daily dose of Morning Live. Fix this,” they wrote on X.
The outage impacting the SABC relates to the Mayfair substation. Customers briefly regained power on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, following an explosion on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
However, a secondary explosion occurred on Tuesday, again cutting power to residents and businesses in Mayfair, Crown, Vrededorp, Brixton, Crosby, Pageview, Homestead Park, and Amalgam.
It also impacted the SABC’s Auckland Park premises and Garden City Hospital. City Power warned that essential services, including water supply, have been disrupted.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the explosion’s cause was unknown, adding that the incident knocked out the entire substation. The estimated time to restoration is also unknown.
“City Power regrets the secondary explosion at Mayfair Substation shortly after teams had begun restoring electricity at around 18:00,” he said.
“The fire department contained the fire, and the area has been cordoned off until it is declared safe for City Power teams to come in and do an assessment of the damage.”
In a subsequent statement from the SABC, it said power had yet to be restored as of 11:20 on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, but added that its programming had been restored.
SABC S2 frozen
SABC S3 frozen
Loading ...