South Africa’s Parliament has pressed the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to finalise a sustainable funding framework for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), placing the replacement of its television licence collection model at the centre of efforts to stabilise the public broadcaster’s finances.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has set 31 March 2027 as the target for submitting a revised funding model. The framework will inform a revised SABC Bill, which is expected to reach Parliament between 1 April 2027 and 31 March 2028. The timetable establishes a path towards reform, but does not mean the current licence system will end by March 2027. MyBroadband reported the latest deadlines.
The urgency is reflected in the broadcaster’s collection figures. Only 15% of television licence holders paid their fees in the 2024/25 financial year, while approximately R22.8 billion in potential licence revenue went uncollected between 2019/20 and 2024/25. The persistent shortfall has weakened a funding mechanism intended to contribute significantly to the SABC’s public-service broadcasting obligations.
In the interim, the SABC has been allocated R728.8 million from the National Revenue Fund over the three-year Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. The funding is intended to support its public mandate, programme production and Channel Africa, its international radio service. Malatsi has cautioned the broadcaster against planning on the assumption that additional government funding will be forthcoming, directing it to continue pursuing revenue growth, cost containment and stronger financial management.
The policy timetable also raises questions about the SABC’s immediate operating pressures. As previously reported by BMA, the broadcaster faces substantial outstanding obligations to signal distributor Sentech. While a revised funding model and subsequent legislation may provide a longer-term framework, the process does not in itself resolve existing arrears or guarantee additional resources for transmission services. The gap between near-term operational costs and longer-term funding reform remains a key risk for the broadcaster.
The final model has yet to be confirmed publicly. Options previously considered in the broader debate have included household levies, government funding and other mechanisms that combine public support with commercial revenue. Any replacement will need to balance predictable funding for the SABC’s public-service mandate with affordability, accountability and appropriate safeguards for competition in the broadcasting market.
For public broadcasters elsewhere in Africa, South Africa’s experience illustrates the risks of relying on a collection system where compliance has deteriorated over many years. Replacing a poorly performing mechanism, however, is only one part of the challenge: the successor must provide a dependable revenue base, while preserving the broadcaster’s ability to serve audiences that commercial markets may not adequately reach.
The immediate milestone is March 2027, when the funding proposal is expected to be submitted. The subsequent legislative process will determine how quickly a new system can be implemented, leaving the SABC to manage its current financial pressures while the longer-term solution takes shape.
