After a decade of migration projects, platform launches and modernisation programmes, African broadcasters face a blunter question than usual at the Broadcasters Convention – Southern Africa 2026, taking place 22–25 October 2026 at Avani+ Barbarons, Mahé, Seychelles: which parts of digital transformation have actually worked?
The 10th edition of the regional convention, hosted by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and convened by Broadcast Media Africa (BMA) in collaboration with the Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA), brings together broadcasters, media executives, technology leaders, and regulators from across the region.
A key panel session, “Digital Transformation in Broadcasting: What’s Working and What’s Next?”, opens the convention’s second day and focuses on evidence rather than ambition: which investments have paid for themselves, which have stalled, and what the next round of spending should prioritise.
The timing gives the question weight. Pay-TV subscribers in South Africa, the region’s largest broadcast market, fell 9.6 per cent to 6.7 million according to ICASA’s State of the ICT Sector report, the first drop below seven million in more than five years. At the same time, the country’s analogue switch-off is roughly fifteen years past its original target, with the most recent deadline halted in court. Broadcasters still carrying both analogue and digital transmission costs are funding the past and the future at once.
The discussion is expected to cover how modernisation projects are sequenced, governed and measured, where skills gaps slow delivery, how vendor contracts are structured, and the difference between upgrading technology and changing a business model. The regional constraints are specific: budgets are set in local currency while much of the technology is priced in dollars, and engineering and data capacity remains thin.
The panel heads the second-day stream on cloud, infrastructure and future business, which also covers cybersecurity, multi-platform distribution across satellite, cloud and IP, and the economics of running digital operations at scale.
Later the same day, thirteen SABA member broadcasters present country reports on their progress since the association last met in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, giving the transformation debate an immediate evidence base. The week also carries a masterclass, the SABA Annual General Assembly and the second edition of the Broadcast Media Awards.
With legacy revenues under pressure and modernisation budgets under scrutiny, the Seychelles session offers broadcasters a candid regional account of what has worked and what the next round of investment should buy.
The Broadcasters Convention – Southern Africa 2026 takes place 22–25 October 2026 at Avani+ Barbarons, Mahé, Seychelles, hosted by SBC and convened by BMA in partnership with SABA, marking the 10th edition of the regional gathering.
For more information, visit: Broadcasters Convention – Southern Africa 2026
