Hlaudi Motsoeneng<\/a><\/strong>, who was defended by Zuma loyalists despite his horrific performance.<\/p>\nThis has led to a negative attitude towards the broadcaster from the public – which has had significant consequences.<\/p>\n
TV licences<\/h3>\n
The SABC\u2019s latest annual report shows that revenue collected from television licences declined by R178.5 million – 17.4% – to R847.4 million in the past financial year.<\/p>\n
This is R449.4 million below budget.<\/p>\n
In simple terms, many South Africans who were paying their TV licences have stopped doing so.<\/p>\n
The unwillingness to pay may be linked to several factors, but a\u00a0loss of confidence in the SABC and its financial management structures can be considered one of them.<\/p>\n
This is despite a TV licence costing the relatively low price of\u00a0R265 per year.<\/p>\n
The BBC<\/h3>\n
In the UK, the BBC – its public broadcaster – runs a similar licence system to the SABC, which is also reported to be unpopular among TV owners.<\/p>\n
Despite the UK’s TV licence being viewed in a negative light by locals, and costing much more than South Africa’s, the BBC has become an\u00a0internationally-successful broadcaster.<\/p>\n
A standard annual TV licence in the UK is \u00a3147 for a colour TV (R2,600) and \u00a349.50 for black and white (R875) TV.<\/p>\n
It is worth noting that\u00a0the BBC does not require you to pay a TV licence if you only use your TV as a monitor for your gaming console. If you use any device to watch its linear broadcast services live, however, you must pay.<\/p>\n
Despite the concession, the BBC brings in significantly more revenue from TV licences than the SABC does.<\/p>\n
It is not just the volume of public funds channelled into the broadcasters that sets them apart, though, as there is also a major difference in attitude when it comes to the type of content produced with those funds.<\/p>\n
The BBC has a content strategy much like that of Netflix, where it develops content that speaks to a local audience – but which will also travel well around the world.<\/p>\n
This includes dramas such as Sherlock, Doctor Who, and The Missing, as well as shows like Top Gear, Masterchef, Live at the Apollo, Robot Wars, QI, and Strictly Come Dancing.<\/p>\n
In addition to airing these shows in its home market, the BBC licenses the content to international broadcasters – including platforms like DStv and Netflix.<\/p>\n
For the SABC to remain relevant when the world is moving from broadcast TV to streaming and on-demand services, it should adopt a similar content strategy – produce a variety of shows which are relevant to all South Africans, but which may also excite international audiences.<\/p>\n
Not only will this raise the quality and reach of its content, it will expand the SABC’s income streams beyond South Africa.<\/p>\n
This is an opinion piece.<\/em><\/p>\n