The journey towards broadcasting digital migration (BDM) in South Africa has been lengthy and fraught with challenges. Originally set for completion on 1 November 2011, the project has endured nearly 14 years of delays and has seen the tenure of 12 different communications ministers, yet remains unfinished.
The future of this initiative is unclear, but the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has requested that analogue TV signals continue until the end of December 2025. Meanwhile, eMedia argues that digital migration has faltered and suggests that authorities should consider abandoning it in favour of satellite and 5G broadcasting, maintaining the old analogue service for now.
This endeavour began in 2011, aiming to transition television broadcasts from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT). The migration is expected to yield numerous advantages, such as unlocking valuable radio frequency spectrum, allowing for additional channels, and enhancing picture quality and functionality.
This extra spectrum could bolster wireless telecom networks, allowing cellular operators to offer more competitive data pricing.
South Africa had hoped to execute this digital transition swiftly, setting deadlines earlier than the global benchmarks. Former communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri first launched the initiative in 2001 with the formation of the Digital Broadcasting Advisory Board (DBAB). After producing a report in 2002, the DBAB recommended that South Africa adopt the terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting standard (DVB-T).
Despite this promising beginning, progress halted for nearly five years, characterised by ongoing discussions, policy framework tests, and the formation of working groups. It wasn’t until 2007 that the Cabinet approved a timetable for the digital television signal switchover, aiming for 1 November 2008, to eliminate analogue signals by 1 November 2011—four years before the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) deadline of 17 June 2015.
Feeling proud of its ambitious goals, the South African government soon faced the reality of unmet deadlines. The 2011 target was missed, and further promised deadlines came and went, including the ITU’s 2015 cutoff. Since the initial goal was set, 12 communications ministers have emerged, each as optimistic about advancing the project as their predecessors.
The current Communications Minister, Solly Malatsi, failed to meet two recent deadlines for the analogue switch-off (31 July 2024 and 31 December 2024), with the latter being suspended by court order. In January 2025, Malatsi requested a postponement from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, concerned that the cutoff would leave many viewers without essential access to information.
He later confirmed a new plan to extend the deadline to 31 March 2025, but the Pretoria High Court also blocked this just before its implementation. Legal action was taken by eMedia, Media Monitoring Africa, and the SOS Coalition, which argued that the swift switch-off would deprive underprivileged households of vital access due to delays in distributing state-subsidised set-top boxes necessary for receiving DTT signals.
The court also ruled to interdict Malatsi from advancing plans for the switch-off, preventing state signal distributor Sentech from terminating analogue broadcasts. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has directed its legal team to collaborate with stakeholders to resolve outside the courtroom.
“The Court halted that analogue switch-off planned for the end of March,” Minister Malatsi shared in his Budget Vote speech in July 2025. He added, “We have acknowledged the court’s findings and are committed to working with our legal representatives to seek a non-litigious solution.”
